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CAMERA  SHOTS 
AT  BIG  GAME 


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CAMERA  SHOTS  AT 
BIG  GAME 


BY 

MR.  AND  MRS.  A.  G.  WALLIHAN 


WITH   AN   INTRODUCTION    BY 

THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 


NEW  YORK 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  CO. 

1906 


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Copyright,  1901,  by 

DOUBLEDAY,   PaGE    &    Co, 


September,  zgoif. 


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INTRODUCTION 

}T  is  a  pleasure  to  write  an  introduction  to  Mr. 
Wallihan's  really  noteworthy  book,  for  his  pho- 
tographs of  wild  game  possess  such  peculiar 
value  that  all  lovers,  whether  of  hunting  or  of 
natural  history,  should  be  glad  to  see  them  preserved  in  per- 
manent form.  The  art  and  practice  of  photographing  wild 
animals  in  their  native  haunts  has  made  great  progress  in 
recent  years.  It  is  itself  a  branch  of  sport,  and  hunting  with 
the  camera  has  many  points  of  superiority  when  compared  to 
hunting  with  the  rifle.  But,  even  under  favorable  conditions, 
very  few  men  have  the  skill,  the  patience,  the  woodcraft  and 
plainscraft  which  enabled  Mr.  Wallihan  to  accomplish  so 
much;  and,  moreover,  the  conditions  as  regards  most  of  our 
big  game  animals  are  continually  changing  for  the  worse. 
The  difficulties  of  getting  really  good  and  characteristic  photo- 
graphs are  such  as  to  be  practically  insuperable  where  game  is 
very  scarce  and  very  shy,  and  throughout  most  of  the  United 
States  game  is  steadily  growing  scarcer  and  shyer.  Photo- 
graphs in  a  game  preserve,  no  matter  how  large  this  preserve, 
are,  of  course,  not  quite  the  same  thing. 

The  elk  have  now  almost  everywhere  diminished  in  numbers 
so  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  indeed  to  get  pictures  like  some 

5 


270948 


6  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME 

of  Mr.  Wallihan's,  and  though  the  blacktail  and  the  antelope  last 
better,  yet  they,  too,  can  nowhere  be  found  as  they  were  but  a 
dozen  years  ago.  The  cougar  pictures  have  an  especial  value. 
Where  cougars  are  plentiful  it  is  easier  to  take  their  photographs 
than  in  the  case  of  deer,  and  there  are  a  number  of  localities  in 
the  Rockies  where  they  are  still  fairly  abundant ;  but  they  are 
steadily  growing  scarcer,  and  where  they  have  become  really 
scarce  the  work  of  the  photographer  becomes  one  of  such 
hopeless  labor,  the  chance  for  success  is  so  very  small,  as  to  be 
practically  prohibitive.  There  are  still  cougars  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  but  nowadays  it  would  be  a  simple  impossibility 
for  any  man  to  take  of  them  such  pictures  as  Mr.  Wallihan 
has  taken  of  the  Colorado  cougars.  Moreover,  even  where 
cougars  are  plentiful,  the  photographer  might  work  a  lifetime 
before  getting  such  a  remarkable  picture  as  that  of  the  cougar 
jumping  in  mid-air.  As  I  know  from  practical  experience,  it 
is  exceedingly  difficult,  even  when  the  cougar  has  been  treed, 
to  get  a  really  fine  photograph,  as  it  is  not  possible  to  choose 
the  conditions  of  ground  and  light  in  advance. 

Mr.  Wallihan's  hunting  was  in  northwestern  Colorado  and 
western  Wyoming  —  regions  where  I  have  often  followed  the 
game  he  describes.  There  are  no  whitetail  deer  in  the  coun- 
try he  covered,  the  buffalo  were  extinct  before  he  began  work 
with  his  camera,  and  he  never  had  luck  with  bears.  But  his 
series  of  elk,  antelope,  blacktail  and  mountain  lion  pictures 
leave  little  to  be  desired.  It  is,  by  the  way,  difficult  to  deter- 
mine whether  to  use  the  ordinary  vernacular  names  of  these 


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(Deer  18) 


INTRODUCTION  7 

animals,  or  their  book  names,  which  are  better  in  themselves, 
but  which  unfortunately  have  not  been  popularly  adopted. 
The  elk,  for  instance,  has  no  resemblance  to  the  animal  prop- 
erly called  the  elk  in  the  Old  World,  which  is  the  blood 
brother  of  the  moose,  nor  yet  to  the  other  animals  improperly 
called  elk  in  Asia  and  Africa.  The  blacktail  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  not  the  true  blacktail  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The 
antelope  is  not  an  antelope  at  all,  occupying  an  entirely  unique 
position  as  the  only  hollow-horned  ruminant  which  annually 
sheds  its  horns.  It  would  be  far  better  if  the  three  could  be 
known  as  wapiti,  mule-deer  and  prong-buck.  But  unfortu- 
nately they  are  rarely  known  by  these  titles  in  common  speech. 
With  the  cougar  the  case  is  a  little  different.  It  is  sometimes 
called  cougar  among  the  ranchmen,  and  the  names  of  panther 
and  mountain  lion,  by  which  it  is  known  respectively  in  the 
East  and  in  the  West,  are  so  misleading  that  it  is  best  to  drop 
them  and  give  it  the  proper  title. 

The  elk,  or  wapiti,  were  still  plentiful  in  northwestern  Col- 
orado a  decade  ago,  going  in  large  herds.  The  merciless  per- 
secution they  have  suffered  for  the  sake  of  their  flesh,  hide, 
antlers  and  teeth  has  resulted  in  the  species  being  reduced  to  a 
few  hundred  individuals.  The  Wyoming  elk  are  travelling 
the  same  path,  although  the  existence  of  the  great  protected 
nursery  and  breeding-ground  in  the  Yellowstone  National  Park 
has  delayed  the  process  and  gives  us  reasonable  hope  that  the 
animals  will  never  become  entirely  extinct.  The  part  played 
by  true  sportsmen,  worthy  of  the  name,  in  this  extinction  has 


8  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

been  nil,  and  indeed  very  little  appreciable  harm  has  been 
done  by  any  men  who  have  merely  hunted  in  season  for 
trophies.  The  real  damage  has  come  from  the  professional 
hunters  and  their  patrons.  In  a  wild  frontier  country  it  is  too 
much  to  expect  that  the  settlers  will  not  occasionally  kill  meat 
for  their  own  use,  though  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
educate  them  to  the  knowledge  that  a  wapiti  or  deer  free  in 
the  woods  will,  by  attracting  tourists,  bring  into  the  neighbor- 
hood many  times  as  much  money  as  the  dead  carcass  would 
represent.  The  professional  game  butchers,  however,  have  no 
excuse  of  any  kind.  They  kill  the  animal  for  the  hide  and 
for  the  flesh.  Moreover,  the  horns  are  strikingly  ornamental 
and  are  freely  purchased  by  a  certain  class  of  wealthy  people 
who  wholly  lack  the  skill  and  hardihood  necessary  to  those 
who  would  themselves  be  hunters,  and  who  have  not  the  good 
taste  to  see  that  antlers  properly  have  their  chief  value  as 
trophies.  Nothing  adds  more  to  a  hall  or  a  room  than  fine 
antlers  when  they  have  been  shot  by  the  owner,  but  there  is 
always  an  element  of  the  absurd  in  a  room  furnished  with 
trophies  of  the  chase  which  the  owner  has  acquired  by  pur- 
chase. Even  less  defensible  is  it  either  to  kill  or  to  put  a 
premium  upon  the  killing  of  this  noble  and  beautiful  creature 
for  the  sake  of  its  teeth.  Yet  the  habit  of  wearing  elk*s  teeth 
on  watch-chains  and  the  like  has  been  responsible  for  no  small 
amount  of  slaughter.  The  Audubon  societies  have  done  use- 
ful work  in  trying  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  song-birds 
and  waders  for  millinery  purposes.     It  would  be  well  if  some 


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INTRODUCTION  9 

similar  society  would  wage  war  against  the  senseless  fashion  of 
wearing  elk's  teeth  when  the  wearer  has  not  shot  the  animal ; 
for  such  a  fashion  simply  becomes  one  cause  of  extermination. 
The  mule,  or  Rocky  Mountain  blacktail,  deer  is  in  some 
localities  migratory.  This  is  the  case  in  Colorado,  where  the 
winter  and  summer  ranges  of  the  deer  are  wholly  distinct,  and 
where  during  the  migrations  the  animals  follow  well-estab- 
lished trails  leading  over  and  among  the  mountains  and  across 
the  streams.  Some  of  Mr.  Wallihan's  most  beautiful  pictures 
are  those  taken  of  deer  crossing  a  stream.  In  dealing  with 
the  prong-horn  antelope,  on  the  other  hand,  a  shy  and  far- 
sighted  creature  of  the  dry,  open  prairie,  almost  the  only  chance 
consisted  in  catching  the  game  when  it  came  to  drink.  Inci- 
dentally it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Wallihan  in  his  description 
lays  stress  upon  the  superior  keenness  of  vision  of  the  antelope 
as  compared  to  the  deer.  Mr.  Wallihan  is  a  very  close  and 
accurate  observer,  as  indeed  it  was  necessary  he  should  be  in 
order  to  obtain  such  results  as  he  has  obtained.  His  remarks 
on  the  comparative  dullness  of  the  deer's  eyesight  are  in  accord 
not  only  with  my  experience,  but  with  those  of  almost  every 
first-class  hunter  whom  I  have  met.  Yet  I  have  known  book 
authorities  to  assert  the  contrary.  Of  course  it  is  all  a  matter 
of  comparison.  A  deer's  vision  is  better  than  that  of  a  buffalo, 
and,  I  believe,  better  than  that  of  a  bear,  and  a  motion  catches 
its  eye  at  once.  But  the  antelope  has  better  sight  by  far  than 
any  other  game,  and  will  be  brought  to  a  condition  of  alert 
suspicion  by  the  sight  of  a  man  at  a  distance  so  great  that  he 


lo  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

would   be    practically   certain   to   escape    observation   from   a 
deer. 

In  Mr.  Wallihan's  cougar  hunting  he  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  be  associated  with  Mr.  William  Wells,  a  first-class  hunter 
with  an  excellent  pack  of  hounds.  Mr.  Wells  is  not  only  a 
good  hunter,  but  a  good  observer.  He  has  written  two  or 
three  pieces  about  cougars  and  cougar  hunting  which  are  filled 
with  refreshing  common  sense,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  aver- 
age tales  on  the  subject.  More  nonsense  has  been  talked  and 
written  about  the  cougar  than  about  any  other  American 
beast.  Even  experienced  hunters  often  gravely  talk  of  cougars 
ten  and  eleven  feet  long.  As  Mr.  Wells  has  pointed  out,  these 
figures  are  never  even  approximated.  The  animal  is  variable 
in  size,  and  very  rarely  a  monster  old  male  will  reach  the 
length  of  eight  feet ;  but  by  no  system  of  fair  measurement 
will  any  cougar  ever  be  found  to  go  more  than  a  very  few 
inches  over  this  limit,  and  even  an  eight-foot  cougar  is  a  giant 
of  its  kind.  Hardly  one  in  a  hundred  reaches  such  a  length. 
The  cougar  is  very  destructive  to  deer  and  colts  as  well  as 
calves,  sheep,  young  elk,  etc.  When  pressed  by  hunger,  big 
cougars  will  kill  full-grown  elk,  horses  and  cattle ;  but  they  are 
cowardly  beasts,  and  not  only  is  it  a  wholly  exceptional  cir- 
cumstance for  them  to  attack  any  human  being  unprovoked, 
but  they  do  not  even  make  an  effective  fight  against  man  when 
cornered.  They  rarely  charge,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  never 
from  any  distance.  A  small  number  of  really  good  fighting 
dogs  can  kill  a  cougar,  and  it  readily  trees  even  before  dogs 


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Copyright.  1894,  by  A.  G.  Wallihan. 


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INTRODUCTION  1 1 

that  would  be  quite  incapable  of  mastering  it.  If  man  or 
dog  comes  close  up,  there  is  of  course  danger  from  the  for- 
midable jaws  and  sharp  claws;  but  commonly  the  danger  is 
only  to  the  pack.  Only  in  very  rare  cases  is  there  any  to 
the  hunter.  Owing  to  the  cougar's  habits,  the  only  method  of 
pursuing  it  which  offers  any  reasonable  chance  of  success  is 
with  hounds.  It  is  occasionally  killed  by  accident  without 
hounds,  but  under  such  circumstances  the  chances  of  success 
are  so  small  as  not  to  warrant  even  the  most  skilful  hunter 
making  a  practice  of  pursuing  it  in  this  manner. 

Mr.  Wallihan  is  not  only  a  good  photographer,  but  a  lover 
of  nature  and  of  the  wild  life  of  the  wilderness.  His  pictures 
and  his  descriptions  are  good  in  themselves  as  records  of  a  fas- 
cinating form  of  life  which  is  passing  away.  Moreover,  they 
should  act  as  spurs  to  all  of  us  to  try  to  see  that  this  life  does 
not  wholly  vanish.  It  will  be  a  real  misfortune  if  our  wild 
animals  disappear  from  mountain,  plain  and  forest,  to  be  found 
only,  if  at  all,  in  great  game  preserves.  It  is  to  the  interest  of 
all  of  us  to  see  that  there  is  ample  and  real  protection  for  our 
game  as  for  our  woodlands.  A  true  democracy,  really  alive  to  its 
opportunities,  will  insist  upon  such  game  preservation,  for  it  is 
to  the  interest  of  our  people  as  a  whole.  More  and  more,  as  it 
becomes  necessary  to  preserve  the  game,  let  us  hope  that  the 
camera  will  largely  supplant  the  rifle.  It  is  an  excellent  thing 
to  have  a  nation  proficient  in  marksmanship,  and  it  is  highly  un- 
desirable that  the  rifle  should  be  wholly  laid  by.  But  the  shot 
is,  after  all,  only  a  small  part  of  the  free  life  of  the  wilderness. 


12  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG    GAME 

The  chief  attractions  lie  in  the  physical  hardihood  for  which 

the  life  calls,  the  sense  of  limitless  freedom  which  it  brings,  and 

the  remoteness  and  wild  charm  and  beauty  of  primitive  nature. 

All  of  this  we  get  exactly  as  much  in  hunting  with  the  camera 

as  in  hunting  with  the  rifle ;  and  of  the  two,  the  former  is  the 

kind  of  sport  which  calls  for  the  higher  degree  of  skill,  patience, 

resolution,  and   knowledge   of  the  life   history  of  the  animal 

sought. 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Dated  Sagamore  Hill,  Oyster  Bay,  N.  Y., 

May  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  and  one. 


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LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PHOTOGRAVURES 

Leaping  Cougar. 

A  Surprised  Band. 

Deer  Drinking. 

Bucks  and  Does. 

Deer  Crossing  the  River  at  Night. 

A  Fawn,  hiding. 

Startled  Does. 

A  Pair  of  Elk. 

Antelope  and  Badger. 

A  Bunch  of  Antelope. 
A  Band  of  Mountain  Sheep. 

Portrait  of  an  Elk. 

An  Old  Ram. 

Ducks  in  the  River. 

In  the  Snow. 

An  Anxious  Cougar  Hound, 

13 


14  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

An  Ugly  Customer. 
At  Bay. 
J  Hound  and  Treed  Wildcat. 

Jack-rabbit,  Resting  and  on  the  Jump. 

A  Black  Bear. 

A  Coyote. 


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HALF-TONE  PLATES 

"  I  caught  them  strung  clear  across  the  river." 

"  They  scented  danger  and  turned  back." 

"The  main  part  of  the  band  was  to  the  left 'of  the  view." 

"  They  were  at '  attention '  instantly." 

"  They  evidently  suspected  something." 

Portrait  of  Mr.  Wallihan. 

"  With  every  sense  alert  for  danger." 

"  He  is  not  frightened,  but  stops  short." 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Wallihan. 

The  old  doe  looked  back  to  see  if  there  really  was  any  danger." 

"  So  I  exposed  on  this  spike  at  thirty  feet." 


LIST    OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  15 

"  He  was  beautiful,  standing  amid  the  flowers  and  grasses." 

"  This  time  he  stood  facing  me." 

"  I  caught  a  fine  picture  at  the  short  distance  of  twenty-five  feet." 

A  frightened  fawn,  hiding. 

Six  hundred  Elk  in  one  picture. 

**  *  Boston'  winded  him  and  brought  him  to  bay.'* 

"  I  made  exposures  in  different  poses." 

"  This  one  led  us  a  merry  chase." 

A  bull  Elk.  at  close  range. 

"  Just  as  they  began  to  go  out  of  sight  I  caught  them." 

"  The  last  one  of  a  small  herd." 

"  As  they  would  not  come  closer,  I  took  them." 

"  As  they  stood  alert  I  caught  them." 

A  close  view  of  Antelope  and  fawn. 

Coming  in  to  drink. 

"  Unsuspecting  of  any  danger." 

"  The  Eagle  went  down  off  the  nest,  so  the  view  is  of  her  back." 

Two  views  of  Snow-shoe  Rabbit  in  summer  coat. 

"  The  Duck  waked  and  started  for  the  water  instantly." 

A  blue  Grouse  at  close  range. 


1 6  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  Her  face  framed  in  pinon  boughs." 

"  A  very  wild  female :  with  much  care  I  was  able  to  get  a 

view  of  her  head." 

"  Sprawled  from  limb  to  limb  in  as  awkward  a  pose  as  she  could  get." 

"  With  a  telephoto  lens  at  thirty  feet." 

A  magnificent  view  at  twenty-five  feet. 

"  Once  or  twice  I  approached  within  twenty  feet,  but  he  made 
ready  to  spring  at  me,  so  I  retreated." 

"  A  very  vicious-looking  view,  as  close  as  I  dared." 

"  The  little  beauty  came  along,  step  by  step." 

"  The  Lion  had  crawled  around  in  a  crevice,  and  was  lying 

there  very  quietly." 

"  I  approached  within  fifteen  feet  and  took  my  last  snap." 

"  At  this  tree  I  got  within  fifteen  feet." 

"  A  big  one,  that  treed  in  a  very  low  cedar." 

"  Suddenly  they  appear  —  the  leader  in  full  view." 

A  near  view  of  a  Bear. 


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A.  G.  Wallihan 


PREFACE 

|HE  material  has  been  obtained  for  this  volume 
under  the  deep  blue  of  Colorado  skies  while 
the  summer  sun  beat  fiercely,  or  when  the  win- 
ter cold  was  so  intense  as  to  interfere  with  hand- 
ling the  camera.  The  pictures  have  been  made  in  the  open 
country,  outwitting  the  far-seeing  antelope,  or  by  riversides, 
while  the  author  awaited  with  bated  breath  the  near  approach 
of  a  bunch  of  deer.  Again,  the  work  has  been  done  in  the 
mountains  where  the  fawns  lay  hidden,  their  mothers  bounding 
away  upon  approach,  where  the  fat  bucks  sought  the  shelter 
of  the  oak  brush  or  lay  out  in  a  point  of  aspens  that  the  sun 
might  harden  their  horns,  where  the  streams  were  filled 
with  lusty  trout ;  or,  following  the  hounds  in  winter  on  the  trail 
of  a  cougar  over  the  hills  and  canons  of  White  River,  or  on 
into  the  bleak,  wind-swept  ranges  of  Wyoming,  matching  skill 
with  the  bighorn  or  (on  skis)  the  lordly  elk.  The  intense 
fascination  of  our  study  of  game  has  taught  patience  and  de- 
manded perseverance  without  limit.  Privation  and  hardship 
have  been  mitigated  by  the  pleasures  obtained  from  hunting 
and  fishing,  and  in  greater  measure  from  the  study  of  the  game. 
The  first  attempt  made  was  in  the  autumn  of  1889,  but  the 
only  result  was  to  learn  some  of  the  difficulties  and  necessities. 

17 


1 8  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT    BIG    GAME 

Very  little  of  the  work  has  been  done  by  hand-camera,  this 
being  used  only  where  the  tripod  was  impossible.  At  the 
commencement  no  hand-camera  at  all  was  available,  and  since 
then  none  has  been  used.  Consequently,  the  work  has  been 
more  laborious  as  well  as  less  speedy,  and  occasional  chances 
have  been  lost  through  the  time  taken  to  set  up  the  camera. 
Up  to  1894  Carbutt's  cut  films  were  principally  used,  but  find- 
ing greater  speed  in  Cramer's  Crown  plates,  these  have  been 
employed  since  that  time.  The  short-focussed  and  convenient 
hand-camera  would  have  been  worthless  fiDr  most  of  the  work,  as 
the  size  of  the  resultant  image  would  have  been  too  small  for 
value.  A  Gundlach  Rectigraphic  lens  was  used  for  several  years. 
This  gave  a  focus  of  83^  inches,  while  the  back  lens,  used  alone, 
gave  a  focus  of  13^  inches,  and  the  front  lens  18  inches. 
In  1894  a  Zeiss  series  II  lens  was  added  for  greater  speed  and 
found  to  be  very  satisfactory,  and  while  a  telephoto  lens  was 
attached  to  the  Zeiss  in  1895,  it  has  proved  to  be  too  slow  for 
very  effective  work.  Of  all  the  shutters,  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Optical  Co.'s  diaphragm  shutter  has  turned  out  to  be  the  best. 
So  much  for  mechanical  outfit. 

For  me,  at  least,  there  is  a  charm  about  the  blacktail,  or 
mule-deer,  that  no  other  game  possesses.  Barring  the  bighorn, 
their  meat  is  the  best,  their  hide  tans  into  the  best  buckskin, 
and  you  turn  from  the  larger  elk  or  the  agile  antelope  to  the 
graceful  beauty  of  a  blacktail  buck,  and  find  there  the  greater 
satisfaction.  The  head  of  the  bighorn  is  a  finer  trophy,  no 
doubt,  and  you  are  led  to  grand  scenery  in  pursuit  of  him,  but 


-,,.••,,:;•  ^,'t^!'';  :/'•. 


■.■^- 


,^\'S--' 


^^^ 


i 
% 


■"^"^m^^^- 


A 


With  every  sense  alert  for  danger.' 
(Deer  23) 


It      '   ' 


»      c  •  •    *  *        * 


Cu|>)ri|;ht,  I8::6,  by  A.  G.  VVitlhhaii 


'He  is  not  frightened,  but  stops  short. 
(Deer  56) 


PREFACE  19 

it  is  heart-breaking  work.  Where  you  find  the  blacktail  you 
will  find  other  pleasures,  fiDr  he  delights  in  the  most  charming 
bits  of  country  to  be  fi^und.  He  will  jump  up  from  the  tall 
weeds  and  grass  among  the  aspens,  so  close  as  to  startle  you  as 
you  ride  through  them,  or  will  leap  into  view  from  the  shade 
of  a  deep  washout  far  in  the  desert,  where  he  finds  in  the  feed 
and  surroundings  something  to  suit  his  taste.  He  is  crafty, 
also;  for  if  he  thinks  he  is  hidden  I  have  known  him  to  lie  in 
thick  brush  until  almost  kicked  out,  after  all  sorts  of  expedients 
to  drive  him  out  had  failed.  He  has,  perhaps,  the  keenest 
scent  and  the  best  hearing  of  all  the  deer  tribe,  although  an 
elk  matches  him  very  closely.  He  cannot  see  as  well  as  the 
antelope,  for  I  have  stood  within  ten  or  twenty  feet  of  several 
passing  bands  which  failed  to  distinguish  me  from  a  stump  or 
rock.  Antelope  will  approach  very  closely,  occasionally,  out 
of  pure  inquisitiveness,  but  never  a  deer.  If  anything  moves, 
a  deer  sees  it  instantly,  but  he  cannot  tell  what  a  still  object  is, 
and  the  elk  and  bighorn  are  the  same.  I  have  exposed  myself 
with  impunity  to  bighorn  where  antelope  would  have  laughed 
me  to  scorn.  The  antelope  is,  without  doubt,  the  most  active 
of  the  four  game  animals  under  discussion.  I  have  seen  them, 
when  chasing  each  other  at  full  speed,  turn  instantly  in  the  re- 
verse direction,  without  any  check  or  curve. 

To  Mr.  William  Wells  is  due  the  credit  for  planning  the 
mountain-lion,  wildcat,  and  bear  hunts,  and  selecting  many  of 
the  views  of  this  volume.  The  manner  of  hunting  them  is 
with  foxhounds  specially  trained  for  the  purpose.     They  must 


20  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

be  trained  to  cross  deer  and  elk  trails,  and  even  run  through 
herds  of  these  animals,  without  leaving  the  lion's  trail,  or  the 
work  will  be  well-nigh  useless;  for  where  the  game  winter, 
there  the  cougar  will  be  found.  All  the  lion-hunters  I  know 
estimate  that  every  lion  kills  fifty  deer  every  year  after  he  is 
grown,  and  that  he  is  destructive  to  other  game  in  like  pro- 
portion. He  is  the  wariest  and  most  skulking  animal  of  which 
I  know  anything.  In  thirty  years  in  the  Rockies  I  have  seen 
(excepting  those  treed  by  dogs)  but  one  wild  one. 

The  chances  for  a  camera  shot  at  a  wild  bear  were  not  to  be 
thought  of,  so  the  views  shown  are  of  trapped  bear.  I  have 
met  but  six  in  my  wanderings.  As  with  the  lion  hunts,  Mr. 
William  Wells  planned  the  bear  hunt,  and  to  his  skill  as  a 
trapper  is  due  our  success.  The  bear  were  caught  on  Slate 
Creek,  near  Pagoda  Peak,  in  Colorado. 

William  Wells,  the  noted  guide  then  of  Marvine  Lodge  in 
Colorado,  proposed  that  we  try  for  pictures  of  mountain  lion, 
which  he  hunted  in  winter  with  a  pack  of  hounds;  so,  after  a 
month  spent  the  first  winter  in  which  two  good  negatives  were 
obtained,  we  started  in  the  second  winter  better  prepared. 
Wells  had  a  splendid  pack  and  much  experience;  and  as  he  had 
a  large  outfit  of  horses,  we  had  good  saddle-  and  pack-horses. 
We  generally  hunted  from  Wells's  winter  camp,  but  occasion- 
ally made  side  trips,  being  welcome  at  almost  any  ranchman's, 
as  the  lions  are  very  destructive  to  colts  and  the  stock-raisers 
were  glad  to  help  exterminate  them. 

A.  G.  Wallihan. 


<•    *     «     .C     t 

t  »  '  «  t 


«■  't 

c  c  c  « 


Mrs.  A.  G.  Wallihan 

who  originated  the  series  of  big  game  photographs  shown  in  this  work 


HOW    I    STARTED    PHOTOGRAPHING 

BIG    GAME 

I ITTING  on  the  ground  in  the  sage-brush  watching 
for  deer  to  come  along  a  near-by  trail,  I  had  eaten 
my  lunch  and  was  watching  some  ants  who  were 
carrying  away  the  crumbs  of  the  food  when  I 
heard  a  trampling  of  feet,  and  looking  up  I  found  myself  sur- 
rounded by  a  hundred  deer.  On  all  sides  were  does  and 
fawns — the  latter  half  grown  —  and  bucks  of  high  and  low  de- 
gree. The  thought  came  to  me,  "  If  I  only  had  a  camera,  what 
wonderful  pictures  I  could  get ! "  There  was  the  beginning  of 
the  plan  which  was  later  carried  out — not  in  its  entirety,  for 
we  could  never  achieve  our  ideal:  the  best  chances,  like  the 
largest  fish,  always  escaped;  but  we  succeeded  better  than  we 
hoped,  then  only  after  long  and  more  than  patient  trial  with 
disappointments  and  hardships  almost  unlimited.  Sometimes 
we  camped  at  a  desert  spring  where  the  fuel  was  scarce  for 
our  cooking  and  the  water  both  scarce  and  of  a  poor  quality. 
Another  kind  of  game  would  take  us  to  some  canon  where  the 
scenery  was  grand,  the  river  ran  close  by,  and  fuel  was  abun- 
dant. Again,  the  game  sought  was  in  the  high  mountains, 
where  camping  was  a  delight  and  the  game  were  in  the 
most    beautiful    surroundings.     Here   we  could  enjoy  the  life 


HOW   I    STARTED    PHOTOGRAPHING   BIG   GAME 

of  the  camper  and  follow  the  work  with  which  we  were  so  in 
love.  The  game  has  disappeared  so  rapidly  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  duplicate  the  greater  part  of  the  photographs.  Like 
the  buffalo,  they  are  doomed  to  extinction,  and  I  am  glad  that  I 
was  able  to  help  preserve  a  glimpse  of  them  as  they  were  at 
their  best. 

Mrs.  A.  G.  Wallihan. 


•  *»  '  »  » 


»  •     »  •  • 


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,  4,      o        *        ^  * 


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>      »  i.    J   t  '       > 
»    i  t^.  '  i    t   • 


»  .-»     J         J    »  ' 


'     1    •    .   •    •      ■  > 


'       '      .'        < 


»  ••     »  '.  »    •     >  .> 


•  .>;».:  • 


t  t  J  t  >  t     'j'«',  >'•, 


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>..        m   '     »    *   m   *    *      ** 


CHAPTER    I 

jN  October,  1890,  I  placed  myself  and  camera 
on  a  ridge  that  runs  at  a  right  angle  with  the 
course  of  the  great  deer  trail  from  Black  Moun- 
tain (the  westerly  end  of  the  Elkhead  Range  in 
northwest  Colorado)  to  Coyote  Basin,  in  the  valley  of  the  White 
River,  where  the  deer  winter.  I  had  examined  the  trails  and 
selected  the  one  with  the  most  tracks  in  it,  and  going  to  one 
side  about  forty  yards,  I  placed  the  camera  and  tripod  as  low  as 
possible  behind  rabbit  weed.  When  all  was  ready  I  walked  to  the 
hilltop  and  peered  over  to  see  if  any  deer  were  coming.  Just 
over  the  next  ridge  a  little  band  was  headed  in  my  direction, 
and  my  heart  beat  faster  at  the  prospect  of  shooting  game 
with  a  new  "gun"  —  the  camera. 

I  watched  them  come  down  the  hill  and  across  the  little 
valley,  until  they  were  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  whereon  I  stood, 
then  slipped  back  to  the  camera,  drew  the  slide,  set  the 
shutter,  and,  crouching  behind  the  brush,  awaited  their  coming. 
Suddenly  the  head  and  ears  of  a  doe  came  in  sight,  and  the 
others  rapidly  crowded  along  until  they  were  out  in  front,  just 
where  I  desired  them.  I  gave  a  low  whistle.  Instantly  they 
were  still,  every  eye  and  ear  alert.  (No.  i.)  The  click  of 
the  shutter  was  so  faint  that  they  did  not  hear  it,  and  after  a 

21 


22  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

moment  or  two  they  passed  on  down  the  trail,  unaware  of 
their  proximity  to  mankind.  After  waiting  an  hour  or  two 
longer,  I  returned  home,  and  upon  developing  the  negative 
was  elated  to  find  it  a  good  one — the  first  successful  exposure 
I  had  ever  made  in  my  game  series. 

I  have  yet  to  see  the  person  who  can  hide  on  these  trails 
and  allow  a  band  of  deer  to  approach  as  close  as  they  must  to 
secure  good  negatives  without  becoming  excited.  Probably  I 
am  no  better  than  the  tenderest  of  tenderfeet.  Some  men  will 
not  admit  their  excitement,  while  others  freely  confess  that 
they  cannot  command  it.  I  could  hear  one  man's  heart  beat 
as  plainly  as  if  he  were  striking  his  fist  upon  his  chest,  while 
a  band  of  deer  was  passing  close  to  our  hiding-place. 

The  next  good  negative  was  obtained  the  following  spring, 
when  the  deer  were  returning  to  their  summer  quarters.  I 
was  in  Juniper  Mountain  canon,  on  Bear  River,  with  a  com- 
panion, when  some  deer  came  down  to  cross.  We  slipped 
behind  a  big  boulder,  as  close  as  we  could,  and  by  carefully 
raising  the  camera  until  it  peeped  over  the  rock,  I  was  able  to 
catch  them  on  the  rocks  at  the  water's  edge.      (No.  3.) 

A  year  or  two  passed  with  but  poor  success,  until,  one 
morning  in  October,  my  wife  and  I  arose  to  find  about  four 
inches  of  snow  covering  everything  outside  our  tent.  Hur- 
riedly disposing  of  breakfast,  we  started  down  the  canon,  along 
the  edge  of  the  water,  much  of  the  way  with  barely  room  to 
pass  at  the  foot  of  the  rocky  ledges  which  came  right  down  to 
the  river.     Arriving  at  the  deer  trails,  we  found  signs  that  sev- 


•  ••' 


•  t  * 

■  •  •* 

» • »  • 


4> 


O 


^^ 
</>   00 

i  s 

c  Q 
o   -— - 

T3 
(U 
CO 

o 
o. 

X 


o 

C/5 


«  >  >       <  1 


«■    *  «  *  c   c 


>  '  a '  "    '   ■* 


v/^ 


CopTTight,  1698,  bj  A.  O.  W*lUh*B. 


"  He  was  beautiful  standing  amid  the 

flowers  and  grasses." 

(Deer  61) 


''<' 


c  c  c  c    c 


CAMERA    SHOTS  AT   BIG    GAME 


23 


eral  small  bands  had  already  crossed,  so  we  quicky  hid  our- 
selves as  best  we  could  among  the  rocks  along  the  water's 
edge.  Away  up  yonder,  another  band  was  coming  over  the 
summit  of  the  canon  wall,  and  we  were  still  as  mice.  Wind- 
ing and  twisting  in  single  file,  over  small  ledges  and  down  long 
slopes  they  came  on.  Occasionally  we  could  hear  the  fawns 
bleating  in  a  pitiful,  complaining  way,  as  if  tired  or  separated 
from  the  dams.  I  counted  them  as  they  scattered  along  the  trail, 
and  found  that  they  numbered  an  even  sixty.  Now  they  were 
directly  opposite,  and  without  much  ado  the  leaders  marched 
straight  in  and  waded  across.  When  they  had  reached  the 
rocks  on  the  near  side,  I  snapped  the  shutter  and  caught  them 
strung  out  clear  across  the  river.  (No.  18.)  We  waited  all 
the  day,  but  no  more  appeared,  so  we  returned  to  camp,  hun- 
gry after  our  long  wait  in  the  cold,  to  enjoy  a  hearty  supper. 

Later  in  the  month  I  got  one  more  negative  in  the  cedars 
near  home.  I  had  the  camera  peeping  over  the  top  of  a 
cedar  about  three  feet  high,  the  low  brush  hiding  me  from 
sight.  A  doe  and  two  fawns  came  leisurely  along  until  within 
thirty  feet,  which  was  as  near  as  I  dared  allow  them.  I  made 
a  very  faint  noise,  which  their  big  ears  caught  (No.  23),  and  they 
stopped  instantly.  The  shutter  snapped,  and  I  cared  not  then 
how  quickly  they  fled.  A  year  passed,  and  with  a  large  camera 
—  8  by  10  —  I  again  took  the  trail.  Just  where  it  comes  across 
a  sage-brush  park  and  skirts  some  cedars,  and  then  dives  into 
the  cedars,  I  select  a  place,  and  on  looking  up  the  trail  behold 
a  swarm  of  deer  coming  over  the  hill.     I  must  hurry,  or  they 


24  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

will  be  here  before  I  am  ready.  The  tripod  is  up  as  quick  as  a 
wink,  and  the  camera  follows,  the  lens  is  attached,  plate-holder 
inserted,  and,  just  as  I  draw  the  slide,  they  come  out  right  in 
front  of  me,  within  twenty-five  yards.  I  stand  behind  the 
camera,  utterly  motionless  until  they  have  strung  out  across  the 
view  in  front,  then  I  whistle  sharply.  (No.  27.)  They  are 
at  "attention"  instantly.  I  hear  the  click  of  the  shutter  and 
know  I  have  them.  They  look  a  moment  or  more,  but  do 
not  suspect  anything  dangerous,  so  they  walk  on. 

Before  the  last  of  this  bunch  was  out  of  sight,  another  small 
drove  appeared,  but  farther  from  me.  About  the  same  num- 
ber were  in  this  bunch,  but  I  could  not  move  without  scaring 
the  last  of  those  which  had  just  passed,  so  had  to  gaze  at  them 
until  the  last  one  vanished.  I  made  three  more  exposures  that 
day  on  deer,  very  close,  but  did  not  cover  the  camera  when 
drawing  the  slides,  so  of  course  they  were  all  ruined.  The 
deer  were  now  traveling  very  thick,  so  I  stationed  myself 
nearer  camp  where  they  crossed  a  deep  gulch  fringed  with 
heavy  sage-brush.  This  stand  had  one  important  drawback, 
namely,  that  the  deer  came  directly  against  the  wind,  and  in 
spite  of  my  efforts  to  get  far  enough  to  one  side,  the  greater 
number  would  scent  danger  and  run  back  or  pass  around. 
For  a  short  time,  however,  the  wind  was  right  for  me,  and  a 
bunch  coming  in,  I  let  them  approach  quite  close.  Some 
were  down  drinking  at  a  spring  when  I  exposed.  (No. 
30.)  The  main  part  of  the  band  was  to  the  left  of  the  view, 
so  close  that  I  could  not  shift  the  camera  for  fear  of  stamped- 
ing them,  so  I  caught  only  part  in  the  picture. 


«»    "-'  ^    -^ 


I 


Cuiijrisl.t,   1898,  bj    A.   G.    W.lliliaii 


This  time  he  stood  facing  me." 
(Deer  62) 


CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME  25 

Anxious  to  try  the  8  by  10  camera  in  Juniper  Canon,  we 
moved  over  and  camped  at  its  head.  Right  near  camp  one 
trail  crossed,  and  I  spent  several  nights  trying  to  get  flash-light 
photos  of  the  deer  in  passage.  I  made  several  exposures,  but 
only  one  was  successful.  (No.  43.)  The  night  was  intensely 
dark,  and  to  sit  on  the  rocks  for  hours,  with  no  sound  but  that 
of  the  river  or  of  an  occasional  owl,  was  a  peculiar  sensation. 
There  were  fresh  mountain-lion  tracks  along  the  water*s  edge, 
and,  indeed,  I  saw  one — a  monster  —  as  I  went  down  to  the 
trail  one  morning  about  sunrise.  He  was  across  the  river  upon 
the  hillside  about  a  hundred  yards  distant,  walking  leisurely  to 
his  den, —  a  cave  in  the  ledges, —  where  he  disappeared  for  the 
day.  It  was  necessary  to  keep  very  quiet  while  waiting  for  the 
deer,  as  they  would  come  to  the  hilltop  >^ross  the  river  and  stop 
every  few  yards,  listening  for  any  sign  of  danger.  Then  when 
they  reached  the  river,  many  would  go  down-stream  too  far  to 
reach.  One  night  it  was  moonlight,  and  two  came  across, 
headed  straight  for  me.  I  made  the  flash,  but  on  they  came, 
evidently  thinking  it  was  lightning.  They  came  within  ten 
feet,  when  I  moved,  so  they  saw  me,  and  then  there  was  a  great 
splashing  of  water. 

One  night  it  was  very  dark,  and  I  made  a  flash  on  a  bunch 
in  the  river.  I  suppose  it  blinded  them  for  a  moment ;  they 
turned  back,  and  we  could  hear  them  running  into  brush  and 
rocks  in  their  stampede.  During  the  day  I  spent  my  time 
down  the  canon  on  the  main  trail,  and  at  length  found  myself 
right  out  among  the  rocks  by  the  edge  of  the  river.  In  front 
was  a  rock,  taller  than  the  rest,  which  I  could  not  get  out  of 


26  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

the  view  without  raising  the  camera  so  high  as  to  be  too  con- 
spicuous. About  six  hundred  yards  above,  at  the  top  of  the 
canon  wall,  ran  the  trail,  and  in  a  moment  or  so  a  small  band 
came  winding  down  to  the  river.  All  stopped  to  drink. 
Waiting  until  an  immense  buck  had  raised  his  head  (No.  33), 
I  exposed.  After  all  had  drunk,  they  walked  up  the  river  a 
hundred  yards  or  more,  but  would  not  cross,  finally  going  back 
up  the  trail  two  or  three  hundred  yards.  Another  and  larger 
band  came  down  soon  afterward,  and  the  first  bunch  joined 
this  one,  but  kept  in  the  rear.  Down  they  rushed,  greedy 
to  drink,  and  many  were  drinking  when  the  big  buck  belong- 
ing to  the  first  band,  which  was  coming  along  behind  and 
acting  very  suspicious,  suddenly  wheeled,  and,  with  a  snort, 
started  back  up  the  trail  on  the  run,  followed  by  the  rest.  One 
fawn,  enjoying  the  first  drink  he  had  found  for  many  a  weary 
mile,  was  so  startled  that  he  jumped  straight  out  into  the  river. 

One  afternoon,  after  an  all-day  wait  without  result,  I  was 
thinking  of  going  to  camp,  when  a  large  herd  came  in  sight. 
The  deer  were  slow  about  coming  down,  and  when  they  at 
last  reached  the  river,  right  opposite,  the  shadow  had  begun  to 
creep  up  the  canon  side,  so  they  were  out  of  the  sunshine.  I 
set  the  shutter  as  slow  as  I  could  for  instantaneous  work,  and 
trusted  to  luck  to  get  them  —  and  did,  in  fact,  secure  a  very 
good  negative.      (No.  34.) 

One  day  I  was  out  on  the  rocks  near  the  riverside  when  a 
few  deer  came  down  immediately  opposite.  I  made  the  ex- 
posure, but  it  proved  a  failure.     After  they  had  walked  along 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT   BIG    GAME  27 

the  edge  of  the  river  a  few  yards,  they  returned  and  swam  across 
very  near  to  me, —  within  ten  feet,  in  fact, — and  landed  close 
by,  where  they  stood  and  shook  themselves.  I  was  standing, 
bent  over,  behind  the  camera  all  this  time,  not  daring  to  move. 
The  deer  were  never  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  me 
after  they  first  reached  the  river.  I  stood  there  until  my  back 
nearly  cracked,  when  at  last  I  stood  erect  and  threw  up  my 
arms  to  scare  them.  They  simply  looked  at  me  without  any 
apparent  alarm.  For  fully  five  minutes  there  they  stood,  within 
twenty-five  feet  of  me,  shaking  off  the  water  and  licking  them- 
selves. When  the  leader  got  ready,  she  started  up  the  steep 
trail,  and  they  were  soon  lost  to  view. 

Returning  home,  I  spent  a  few  days  among  the  cedars,  and 
secured  one  fine  little  snap-shot.  I  was  right  at  the  edge  of 
the  first  cedars  the  deer  would  reach  after  crossing  a  great  open 
sage-brush  country  forty  miles  in  width.  Here  at  last  I  saw  a 
group  of  deer  approaching.  Hurriedly  locating  under  a  cedar 
tree,  I  had  only  a  few  minutes  to  wait.  Luckily,  some  of  the 
animals  came  by  on  the  little  trail  I  had  chosen,  and  I  caught 
them  just  as  a  spike-buck  had  cast  his  eyes  upon  me.  (No.  40.) 
Among  those  that  passed  farther  away  were  two  large  bucks 
with  their  horns  in  full  velvet  (it  was  the  loth  of  October). 

A  year  later  I  was  again  watching  in  the  cedars,  near  home, 
for  the  coming  of  the  mule-deer.  An  old  Indian  lookout,  in 
a  big  cedar  where  two  trails  joined,  was  selected ;  and  as  I  had 
a  brother  visiting  me,  I  placed  him  in  the  lookout  with  my 
rifle,  while  I  shot  them  from  below  with  the  camera.     I  was 


28  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

to  whistle  and  stop  the  deer  when  they  were  at  the  right  place, 
and  a  second  whistle  was  his  signal  to  shoot.  Fortune  favored 
us,  for  a  doe,  fawn,  and  three  bucks  came  suddenly  from  behind 
the  cedars,  and  walked  right  to  the  proper  place  and  stopped 
at  my  signal.  (No.  44.)  I  promptly  pressed  the  shutter  bulb. 
The  second  signal  was  given,  and  my  brother  fired  at  the  large 
buck  with  his  head  down,  barely  grazing  him.  The  spike- 
buck  stood  looking  toward  us  as  if  petrified.  Again  and  again 
my  brother  fired,  the  buck  still  standing  his  ground.  Finally 
I  asked  what  was  the  matter  up  the  tree,  but  the  shooter  said 
he  did  n't  know.  As  soon  as  we  began  to  talk  the  buck  ran 
off.  The  gun  was  passed  down  to  me,  and  I  found  that  two 
cartridges  (40.70  —  long,  straight  shells  with  patched  bullets) 
belonging  to  my  wife's  rifle  had  been  placed  in  the  magazine, 
and  had  failed  to  work.  We  had  a  good  laugh  over  the  affair, 
but  decided  to  wait  for  the  next  herd,  which  soon  came.  A 
spike-buck  was  in  the  lead,  and  a  big  horned  one  next.  After 
I  made  the  snap  my  brother  shot  at  the  big  one  (No.  45),  and 
struck  a  small  cedar  stump  a  few  feet  short  and  a  little  low, 
throwing  splinters  all  over  the  game,  and  frightening  him  so 
badly  that  I  think  he  is  still  running. 

Another  year  rolled  around  before  the  camera  could  again 
be  trained  on  the  deer.  This  time  the  gulch  near  the  cedars 
at  home  was  tried  for  several  days.  Finally  a  fairly  large  herd 
came  right  down  over  the  bank  into  the  gulch.  A  doe  was 
in  the  lead,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the  bucks  preferring  the  rear 
of  the  herd,  so  that  if  any  danger  is  met  they  will  be  able  to 


<    *  g  c    *         c 


'    .     «  .« 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  29 

get  away,  leaving  the  leaders  to  their  own  devices.  When  at 
the  place  where  my  camera  was  trained,  they  evidently  sus- 
pected something,  for  they  stopped,  and  one  doe  turned  back. 
(No.  ^^.)  I  waited  no  longer,  but  made  the  exposure.  In 
another  moment,  thoroughly  frightened,  they  turned  and 
quickly  disappeared  up  the  gulch. 

Selecting  a  good  place  in  the  cedars,  I  tried  again.  From 
my  location  I  could  see  deer  approaching  within  about  three 
hundred  yards,  but  when  they  came  nearer  than  fifty  yards  I 
had  to  hide  myself  more  effectively,  and  could  not  move  while 
they  were  passing.  One  fine  day  I  saw  a  large  band  come 
over  the  hill  on  my  trail,  so  hid  myself  and  waited  their  ap- 
proach. Here  they  are,  sixty  feet  away,  stringing  along — does, 
fawns  —  but  where  are  the  bucks?  Big  does,  little  does,  lots 
of  fawns  pass  by,  until  about  fifty  have  passed.  Ah  !  here 
come  a  pair  of  horns  !  Now  he  is  just  where  I  want  him,  and 
I  whistle  very  faintly.  He  hears  it  and  is  not  frightened,  but 
stops  short.  (No.  56.)  The  shutter  works  noiselessly  (its 
click  at  sixty  feet  will  often  cause  a  leap  that  is  fatal  to  suc- 
cess) ;  the  others  are  moving  on,  so  when  he  can  see  nothing 
to  take  alarm  at  he  follows.  And  then  up  walks  a  monarch 
whose  stately  head  would  grace  any  hall,  and  I  am  compelled 
to  let  him  pass  without  exposing,  for  I  cannot  move  as  much 
as  a  finger  without  frightening  him  off.  After  a  time  I  saw 
more  coming,  off  on  a  side  trail  that  would  not  bring  them  to 
me;  but,  true  to  their  eccentric  habits,  they  meandered  about 
until  they  came  directly  to  the  spot  where  I  wished  them.     As 


30  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

I  was  using  the  telephoto  lens,  which  is  not  instantaneous,  I  had 
to  stop  them,  so  gave  a  faint  whistle.  The  leader  was  out  of 
sight  instantly,  but  an  old  doe,  after  turning  about,  looked  back 
(No.  ^y)  to  see  if  there  really  was  any  danger.  Then  in  an 
instant  she  also  was  gone.  Transferring  my  camera,  next  day,  to 
a  sand  ridge  where  the  trail  crossed,  I  waited  but  a  short  time 
before  a  spike-buck  came  over,  but  the  others  (for  I  knew 
there  were  quite  a  lot)  failed  to  appear,  and  as  I  heard  them 
jumping  I  imagined  they  were  running  away,  or  would  at  least 
go  round  me.  So  I  exposed  on  this  spike  at  thirty  feet. 
(No.  58.)  Then  up  walked  several  does  and  bucks,  and  at 
last  a  magnificent  buck  that  stopped  on  the  very  spot  I  had 
wished  for,  and  looked  a  long  time  at  the  camera.  Then  I 
was  indeed  disgusted;  for  if  I  had  not  taken  the  unimportant 
spike,  I  could  have  had  this  monarch. 

The  following  summer  I  went  to  the  mountains,  camping 
near  the  famous  "Bear's  Ears''  peaks.  By  our  camp  ran  a 
little  stream  which  afforded  us  some  fine  trout,  while  the  hills 
abounded  with  deer  and  a  few  elk.  We  came  through  a  good 
sage-chicken  country,  and  feasted  on  them  as  long  as  we  could 
get  them.  I  have  yet  to  see  the  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl  that  equals 
young  sage-chicken  when  properly  cooked. 

Riding  out  over  the  oak-  and  aspen-covered  ridges  one 
morning,  we  put  up  many  bucks;  but  I  had  in  view  more 
promising  country  farther  back.  Suddenly  there  appeared 
before  me,  in  the  aspens,  a  spike-buck.  Just  as  suddenly  I 
stopped  and  raised  a  warning  hand  to  my  wife,  who  was  fol- 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  31 

lowing.  The  deer  and  I  stared  at  each  other  for  several  min- 
utes. Then  he  commenced  eating,  and  at  last  lay  down.  I 
dismounted  and  quickly  rigged  up  the  camera,  putting  on  the 
telephoto  lens.  When  I  was  ready  I  whistled  to  him  until 
he  got  up  to  look  at  me  again.  He  was  beautiful,  standing 
amid  the  flowers  and  grasses  under  the  aspens.  (No.  61.)  It 
was  only  then  I  noticed  something  wrong  with  his  horn:  it 
seemed  to  be  turned  right  down  across  his  face,  and  the  nega- 
tive so  proves  it.  Presently  he  walked  out  into  some  oak 
brush  near  by,  and  again  lay  down.  I  went  as  close  as  I 
dared  and  focussed  sharply  on  the  leaves  right  over  him,  and 
again  induced  him  to  get  up.  This  time  he  stood  facing  me 
when  I  exposed.  (No.  62.)  He  was  in  the  red  and  his  horns 
were  in  full  velvet.  After  the  exposure  I  walked  toward  him 
several  steps  before  he  ran  off.  Then  I  measured  the  distance 
from  his  bed  to  the  camera,  and  found  it  to  be  only  sixty-five 
feet.  We  rode  on,  but  found  no  more  work  to  do,  so  returned 
toward  camp ;  and  in  passing  the  same  spot  where  I  had  caught 
the  deer  with  the  broken  horn,  I  saw  another  deer  about  three 
hundred  yards  away,  walking  about  in  the  parks  in  the  aspens. 
I  at  once  set  up  the  camera  and  went  towards  him  quietly. 
After  watching  awhile,  I  saw  the  tips  of  his  horns  move,  and  so 
located  him.  I  approached  as  close  as  I  dared  risk,  and,  aiming 
the  camera  so  that  it  would  cover  him  when  he  rose, —  for  the 
telephoto  lens  gives  but  small  field, —  I  whistled.  He  would 
turn  his  head,  but  would  not  rise  until  I  threw  a  twig.  At  last 
by  this  means  I  got  him  on  his  feet.     (No.  63.)     I  exposed  the 


32  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG   GAME 

instant  he  rose,  and  caught  a  fine  picture  at  the  short  distance 
of  twenty-four  steps.  Going  on  towards  camp,  I  got  an  exposure 
on  two  bucks  in  the  aspens,  but  they  are  invisible  except  their 
heads.     That  finished  our  negatives  for  that  trip. 

Once  more  I  camped  on  the  trail  near  home.  I  tried  the 
cedars,  the  gulch,  and  the  sand  ridge,  but  fortune  did  not  favor 
me  until  one  morning  when  I  moved  ahead  to  another  ridge 
and,  after  fixing  the  camera,  walked  to  the  top  to  look  over.  I 
heard  steps  close  by  on  the  other  side,  and  returned  to  the 
camera  just  in  time  to  turn  it  in  the  direction  of  the  deer.  I 
had  no  chance  to  raise  it  before  a  doe  poked  her  head  over. 
The  others  came  up  until  they  were  all  looking  over  (No.  67), 
and  then  at  last  I  exposed.  It  was  barely  sunrise,  and  the  glint 
of  the  morning  light  was  on  their  eyes.  They  smelled  my  tracks 
where  I  had  been  when  I  heard  them  first,  and,  scenting  dan- 
ger, retreated,  but  only  across  a  gulch,  where  they  lay  down 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  me.  An  hour  or  more  later 
another  band  appeared,  this  time  on  the  trail,  and  I  allowed 
them  to  approach  within  thirty-five  steps  before  calling  them 
to  "attention.'*  (No.  68.)  Even  then  they  could  see  nothing 
to  run  from,  so,  turning  off  the  trail  a  little,  pursued  their 
journey. 


J  J    J       ->  J .  .     .  '   .  •  J  *  •    ' 


Cnpyright,  1899,  by  A.  G.  Walliban. 


I  made  exposures  in  different  poses." 
(Elk  23) 


CHAPTER    II 

INLY  a  few  years  ago  northwestern  Colorado 
was  the  home  of  countless  herds  of  elk,  while 
to-day  but  few  are  left,  owing  to  the  greed  of 
man  for  the  money  which  was  to  be  made  by 
killing  them  and  selling  their  hides  and  meat.  Many  of  them 
emigrated  to  Wyoming  to  join  the  Yellowstone  Park  herds. 
While  they  were  still  plentiful  we  rode  out  one  day  five  or  six 
miles  from  home,  and  in  a  short  time  found  a  band  of  six  or 
seven  hundred,  and  by  much  quiet  work  got  a  view  of  them  at 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  I  spent  many  days  and  weeks 
trying  to  get  other  pictures,  but  with  very  poor  success.  While 
they  would  seem  to  have  but  little  cunning,  it  will  be  found, 
when  stalking  is  attempted,  that  they  have  selected  the  top  of 
some  hill  that  has  no  cover  near  by,  or  are  on  the  lee  side  of 
a  ridge,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  approach  down  wind.  This 
applies  to  the  open,  rolling  winter  ranges. 

In  March,  1899,  Billy  Hill  and  I  started  out  one  day  on  our 
long  Norwegian  skis  to  see  if  we  could  outwit  some  of  the 
many  bull  elk  we  could  see  from  our  cabin  near  the  head  of 
Green  River  in  Wyoming.  But  a  short  distance  out  we  found 
a  bull  down  in  a  little  canon  on  Roaring  Fork.  Hill  circled 
round  him  while  I  watched,  and  when  he  had  reached  the 

33 


34  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT   BIG   GAME 

opposite  side  he  sent  his  dog  "Boston"  down  to  bay  the  elk, 
which  he  quickly  did  in  a  mixture  of  aspen,  cottonwood,  and 
spruce.  I  slid  down  into  the  gulch  and,  setting  up  the  camera, 
got  several  views  of  him  at  close  range.  (Nos.  i6,  17,  18.) 
A  day  or  so  later  we  climbed  up  on  the  mountain  farther  back, 
and  bearing  to  the  right  along  its  crest  a  mile  or  more, 
came  in  sight  of  several  bulls  feeding  along  the  rim  of  the 
mountain,  where  the  winds  had  cleared  the  snow  from  the 
grass  underneath.  They  were  out  in  open  ground,  where 
approach  was  nearly  impossible.  Our  only  chance  lay  in 
climbing  a  ridge  on  the  north  and  keeping  on  its  farther  side 
until  we  were  beyond  them.  Even  then  the  chances  looked 
poor.  However,  up  we  climbed  and  got  in  the  lee  of  the 
ridge,  out  of  the  bitter  wind.  Just  at  the  far  end  we  scared 
up  two  bulls  lying  in  some  aspens.  They  ran  down  into  a 
little  valley  just  below,  where  four  more  joined  them.  We 
tried  to  get  to  them,  but  could  find  no  cover.  The  elk  soon 
left  the  valley  and  crossed  a  ridge,  we  following.  Pretty  soon 
"  Boston  '*  winded  the  elk,  and  we  sent  him  forward.  They 
were  in  some  thick  spruces,  but  "  Boston  '*  soon  had  them 
moving,  and  after  a  short  chase  bayed  one  under  another  clump 
of  spruce,  where  I  obtained  a  negative.  (No.  19.)  Before  I 
could  get  another,  he  broke  away  and  ran  out  on  the  rim  of 
the  mountain,  where  he  joined  another  bull.  "  Boston  "  had  the 
two  bayed  by  the  time  we  came  up.  I  could  not  get  nearer 
than  two  hundred  yards,  so  crept  up  behind  a  boulder  and  a 
little  clump  of  aspens  and  made  another  exposure  in  an  environ- 


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Copjrlght  1899,  b7  A.  Q.  Walllban. 


A  bull  Elk  at  close  range. 

(Elk  28) 


c  e   t'    c  i' 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  35 

ment  which  is  typical  of  them  —  out  on  a  bleak,  wind-swept 
ridge,  defying  the  storms.  (No.  20.)  I  watched  them  here 
with  a  telescope  nearly  every  day  all  winter. 

Resting  a  day,  we  again  took  to  our  skis  and  slid  up  the 
river  to  Green  River  Lake.  As  we  were  proceeding  quietly 
along  on  the  edge  of  the  lake,  an  old  bull  came  down  off  the 
mountain  side  ahead  of  us.  "Boston"  quickly  winded  him  and 
was  sent  forward,  and  after  a  short  chase  along  the  shore 
brought  him  to  bay.  Here  I  made  three  or  four  exposures  in 
different  poses.  (Nos.  22  to  24.)  Arriving  at  the  head  of  the 
lake,  we  turned  up  Clear  Creek,  and  had  barely  started  before 
"  Boston"  had  another  fellow  up  and  going.  This  one  led  us  a 
merry  chase,  and  we  were  pretty  well  blown  when  we  at  last 
overtook  them.  He  was  on  a  steep  mountain  side,  standing 
under  a  spruce,  and  I  finally  got  him  to  pose  long  enough  to 
get  a  successful  picture.  (No.  25.)  Then  came  the  long,  tire- 
some slide  home,  which  was  pleasantly  interrupted  by  running 
across  another  bull,  of  which  I  made  a  fine  negative.    (No.  28.) 

We  next  planned  to  go  across  to  the  Gros  Ventre,  to  a  ranch 
where  the  elk  were  said  to  be  very  thick.  This  was  a  pretty 
long  trip  for  me,  especially  as  I  carried  an  8  by  10  camera  and 
a  dozen  8  by  i  o  plates.  We  went  down  the  river  six  miles  to 
a  cabin,  where  we  stayed  over  night.  Next  morning  was 
stormy,  but  we  decided  to  go  on,  making  the  ranch  in  good 
season,  although  our  shoes  stuck  a  little.  Next  day  I  found  I 
had  burned  my  eyes  with  the  snow  glare,  so  we  could  not  go 
out,  and  after  this  it  snowed  enough  to  keep  us  in  for  a  week. 


36  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG    GAME 

Finally  came  a  clear  day,  and  we  climbed  the  mountain  on 
the  right,  and  soon  had  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  elk  in 
sight.  Presently  they  came  to  the  end  of  their  trail,  and  as 
the  crust  would  not  hold,  could  go  no  farther  that  way.  Hill 
and  Lloyd,  the  ranchman,  then  went  around  them,  while  I 
prepared  to  ambush  them  as  they  came  back.  Placing  the 
camera  under  a  spruce  in  the  shade,  I  awaited  them  for  nearly 
an  hour  before  they  came.  When  Hill  got  round  they 
broke  away  and  he  had  a  long  run  to  turn  them.  At  last  they 
came  leisurely  along,  eating  snow  and  looking  back  warily. 
Just  as  they  began  to  go  out  of  sight  I  caught  them.  (No.  29.) 
A  cold  breeze  had  sprung  up,  and  I  was  nearly  frozen,  so  we 
concluded  to  return  to  the  ranch.  Going  along  the  ridge 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  we  came  to  a  slope,  down  which 
we  ran  nearly  half  a  mile;  then,  turning  down  a  gulch,  we  rode 
clear  on  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley  below,  about  a  mile, —  the 
finest  ski  ride  imaginable. 

After  this  followed  several  more  days  of  inclement  weather, 
but  a  change  came  at  last  and  we  again  tried  the  elk.  Climb- 
ing the  mountain  once  more,  we  followed  along  the  ridge, 
calculating  to  find  good  working  material  toward  the  end,  a 
few  miles  below.  On  the  way  I  obtained  a  negative  of  the 
last  one  of  a  small  herd,  on  the  rim  of  the  ridge,  just  before 
she  went  out  of  sight.  In  the  background  of  the  picture, 
away  beyond  across  Jackson's  Hole,  looms  the  majestic  Grand 
Teton  in  all  its  glory.     (No.  30.)     We  followed  to  the  end  of 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT   BIG    GAME 


37 


the  ridge,  but  saw  only  a  few  elk  as  they  crossed  Bacon  Creek, 
too  far  to  photograph.  Then  came  another  glorious  ride  down 
the  mountain  to  the  valley,  and  the  slide  up  the  creek — home. 
The  snow  now  began  to  stick  during  the  middle  of  the  day, 
so,  after  resting  a  day,  we  returned  the  next  to  the  cabin  on 
Green  River,  and  thence  home. 


CHAPTER    III 

jURNING  now  to  the  antelope,  we  shall  find 
him  in  a  different  country.  He  likes  a  flat 
landscape,  open  so  that  he  may  see  his  enemies 
a  long  way  and  use  his  best  defense  —  his  speed. 
He  will,  if  need  be,  go  through  heavy  timber  if  he  can  find 
parks  beyond.  High,  rolling  country,  half  park  and  half 
timber,  will  attract  him,  but  his  true  home  is  the  lower 
levels.  Neither  the  deer,  the  elk,  nor  the  much  vaunted  big- 
horn can  compare  with  him  in  keenness  of  vision.  His  scent, 
on  the  contrary,  is  not  so  fine,  nor  is  his  hearing.  Many  times 
I  have  been  balked,  both  in  hunting  and  photographing,  by  his 
marvelous  vision,  when  any  other  game  would  have  been  easy. 
Then,  at  times,  especially  where  he  has  not  been  hunted  much, 
he  is  very  foolish  and  simple.  His  inquisitiveness  often  costs 
him  his  life.  His  meat,  in  the  springtime,  is  very  good ;  the 
rest  of  the  year  it  varies  from  very  bad  to  good,  according  to 
the  individual.  He  is  harder  to  kill,  according  to  his  size  and 
strength,  than  any  of  the  other  game,  and  furnishes  magnificent 
sport  as  a  running  target. 

Antelope  Springs  is  one  of  his  headquarters.  It  is  a  bare 
place,  not  a  tree  to  be  seen  anywhere,  only  the  ever  present 
sage-brush  scattered  here  and  there, —  not  thickly,  for  he  does 

38 


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3* 

n 


o 

^    3 
9?    O 

3 


a* 
m 


CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME  39 

not  like  too  much  of  it  —  it  shuts  out  his  grass  and  other  food; 
besides,  the  coyote  can  get  too  close.  It  is  a  difficult  camping- 
ground, —  no  timber,  no  water,  except  in  the  smaller  gulches. 
However,  the  dead  sage-brush  is  the  best  of  fire-wood,  and  sage- 
hens,  than  which  no  barn-yard  fowl  is  better  meat,  abound. 
The  morning  after  our  arrival  we  rose  early,  to  find  that  as 
soon  as  it  was  light  the  antelope  were  coming  to  water  in  herds 
of  all  sizes.  After  breakfast  they  came  right  up  to  the  tent, 
and  I  crawled  to  one  corner  carefully,  and  exposed  on  a  buck 
that  had  approached  to  within  forty  yards  (No.  17)  to  rec- 
onnoitre,—  a  large  band,  at  a  safe  distance,  awaiting  the  verdict. 
Soon  they  were  coming,  thick  and  fast,  about  the  springs 
which  seep  from  the  gravelly  rock  in  the  gulch  bottom.  We 
worked  down  into  the  gulch  and  rapidly  approached  the 
springs,  mindful  of  the  wind.  There  was  another  spring,  in 
the  next  gulch,  about  half  a  mile  away,  over  a  low  hill,  and 
the  greater  number  seemed  to  be  going  to  that.  But  a  group 
of  ten  came  right  round  behind,  so  that  they  could  see  the 
camera.  I  kept  the  camera  turned  upon  them  until  they  were 
outlined  on  a  ridge  against  the  sky,  directly  under  the  sun,  about 
one  hundred  yards  away,  when  I  exposed.  (No.  18.)  The 
negative  shows,  in  the  foreground,  some  prickly-pear  cactus, 
a  lot  of  rabbitweed,  a  few  sage-brush,  and,  on  the  ridge,  the 
antelope. 

Next  morning  I  went  over  to  the  other  spring,  and,  finding 
a  side  gulch  that  came  in  near  the  water,  pulled  a  quantity  of 
green  sage-  and  rabbit-brush  and  made  a  blind  that  the  quarry's 


40  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

keen  eyes  could  not  see,  nor  even  the  coyote  that  trotted  by. 
As  he  paused  on  the  crest,  I  exposed  on  him  for  a  second 
at  forty  yards.  (No.  2.)  Then  he  came  down  and  drank  his 
fill.  After  he  had  gone,  three  antelope  came  walking  right  out 
on  the  bank,  and  as  they  stood  alert  I  caught  them.     (No.  19.) 

They  are  always  cautious  about  approaching  the  water,  as 
the  coyotes  lie  in  wait  there  for  them.  I  have  often  seen  a 
band  chase  a  lone  coyote  away  from  the  water,  and  then,  sud- 
denly terrified,  turn  tail  and  allow  the  coyote  to  chase  them. 

I  climbed  up  a  little  above  the  camera,  where  I  could  ob- 
serve the  hills  and  valley  in  all  directions,  and  as  I  sat  a  bunch 
of  antelope  came  right  down  the  gulch  to  the  water  above 
me,  and  gradually  worked  down  until  almost  in  front,  but 
turned  out  about  forty  yards  above,  and  when  on  the  top  of  the 
bank  moved  diagonally  away  from  me.  (No.  11.)  As  they 
would  not  come  closer,  I  took  them  as  they  were.  Then  they 
moved  around  and  came  on  the  bank  right  in  front,  and  stood 
eying  my  blind.  Just  then  a  badger  came  out  of  his  hole  in 
the  bank,  and  I  resolved  to  see  if  I  could  put  in  the  next  slide, 
turn  the  holder,  pull  the  other  slide,  set  the  shutter,  and  so  get 
the  antelope  and  the  badger  in  one  and  the  same  picture. 
The  antelope  stood  and  watched  the  motions  behind  the  blind 
until  I  succeeded  in  making  the  exposure.  (No.  14.)  Then, 
at  the  click  of  the  shutter,  scampered  away. 

The  badger  went  down  the  gulch,  then  over  the  bank,  I 
after  him,  hoping  to  come  over  quickly  enough  to  catch  him 
before  he  got  too  far  away.     He  was  very  slow,  so  I  got  within 


t  •     •     »    •       • 


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TopsrlRht,   185C,  hj    A.   G     Walliliiin 


"  As  they  would  not  come  closer,  I  took  them." 
(Antelope  1 1) 


V 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  41 

twenty  feet  and  whistled,  when  he  turned,  and  the  snap  was 
made. 

Another  band  of  antelope  came  in,  but  they  seemed  to  know 
where  I  was,  for  they  drank  at  the  upper  end  of  the  water, 
then  went  out  on  the  bank,  and  snorted  at  me  while  I  got  a 
negative  of  them  at  sixty  yards  with  the  telephoto  lens.  (No. 
12.)  I  stayed  until  sunset,  watching  the  play  of  the  antelope 
as  they  came  and  went  about  the  water,  some  below  and  some 
above  my  stand.  Then  the  sage-hens  commenced  to  flock  in, 
some  on  the  ground,  but  the  greater  number  flying.  They 
seemed  to  fear  danger  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  but  early 
in  the  morning  and  late  in  the  evening  they  flocked  around  by 
the  thousands.  The  golden  eagle  is  their  most  terrifying 
enemy.  I  found  a  jack-rabbit  near  the  tent  one  day,  and  got 
within  five  feet  of  him;  secured  two  negatives  (Nos.  i  and  2), 
and  then  caught  a  snap-shot  of  him  while  running  (No.  3). 

The  following  day  I  secured  a  picture  of  a  buck  and  fawn 
at  the  same  place,  and  then  we  bade  adieu  to  the  desert,  and  took 
our  way  to  the  haunts  of  other  game. 


CHAPTER    IV 

'HE  bighorn,  or  mountain  sheep,  is  credited  by 
many  writers  as  the  keenest-eyed  and  wariest  of 
Rocky  Mountain  game,  but  he  is  over-estimated. 
Few  men  know  much  concerning  them,  mainly 
because  they  are  scarce,  and  also  because  they  are  hard  to  hunt. 
Most  hunters  dislike  to  own  ignorance  of  any  kind  of  game, 
so  they  either  repeat  some  time-worn  tale  of  the  bighorn  or 
invent  one  of  their  own.  True,  the  mountain  ram  is  watchful, 
for  his  existence  depends  upon  that ;  but  he  cannot  see  like  the 
antelope,  and  in  antelope  or  deer  country  would  be  an  easy 
prey.  His  worst  enemy,  the  mountain  lion,  keeps  him  con- 
stantly alert,  as  the  boulders,  gulches,  and  scattering  timber  of 
his  range  afford  splendid  cover  for  the  merciless  cougar.  They 
are  gradually  becoming  extinct. 

Accompanied  by  William  Wells  and  Bert  Hill,  my  wife  and 
I  left  the  head  of  Green  River  for  Cliff  Creek,  one  July  day, 
with  a  pack  outfit.  The  first  day  we  made  thirty  miles, 
camping  at  Falers,  in  Fall  River  Basin.  The  second  day  we 
stopped  on  Cliff  Creek  to  eat  our  noonday  lunch,  and  while 
eating  I  caught  sight  of  something  on  the  mountain  ahead  of 
us,  which  we  at  first  took  to  be  an  elk,  but  our  glasses  revealed 

an   old   silvertip    bear   and   two    cubs.       We   all   had  a  good 

42 


•       »    »       »    •    •        a 


»  »      >       •     »         » 


>    >  :• 


••    •      ••.  . 
»    .     ......      •»• 


•  .  • ,  •  »   .. 


Copyright,  1898,  by  A.  O.  WalliLan. 


"As  they  stood  a  bit  I  caught  them. 
(Antelope  19) 


•    •    *•   •      • 


■ »     •      »    »       •      • 


•  •• 
»m 


•        •  •    • ••      I 

••      •  •    »,    / 

*       •••»*■        *{ 


•••    •.    •    •       • 

•  '•  •  •  •  •  •  •• 

•  •  •     •  •  •  •  1 


' '.' 


i  .4 


• ;  '    <■ 


<       t       t      '    /«     C 

€.«  «       'J    C     < 

c        c  c     «       «       • 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  43 

look  at  them  before  they  disappeared  over  the  summit.  Trav- 
eling on  about  four  miles,  we  located  camp  about  midway  of 
the  range,  so  I  could  work  in  either  direction.  Wells  killed 
an  elk  about  sunset,  within  four  hundred  yards  of  camp,  so 
that  I  would  not  have  to  fire  any  shots  to  alarm  the  game. 
The  following  morning  I  brought  in  the  meat,  and  Wells  and 
Hill  returned  to  Green  River.  The  second  day  I  went  up 
the  little  creek,  which  came  right  out  of  the  center  of  the 
range,  taking  my  horse  as  far  as  I  could  and  climbing  the  last 
part  of  the  way,  until  I  could  go  no  farther  for  cliffs.  I  found 
so  little  sign  that  I  knew  the  sheep  were  not  working  so  low 
down.  I  had  swept  the  range  with  my  telescope  the  first 
morning  in  camp,  and  found  six  or  eight  sheep,  among  them 
a  ram  with  a  good  head.  I  was  now  directly  below  the  place 
where  I  had  observed  them,  and  just  as  I  was  about  to  return 
to  my  horse  they  again  appeared  and  commenced  feeding.  I 
saw  that  I  could  not  get  up  to  them,  so  on  the  next  day  went 
to  the  north  pass,  where  I  found  but  little  sign,  but  on  my 
way  home  ran  into  some  elk  and  made  several  exposures,  all 
of  which,  on  development,  were  failures.  The  next  day  I 
went  to  the  south  end  of  the  mountain,  taking  my  horse  clear 
to  the  summit  in  order  to  get  the  camera  up,  calculating  to 
leave  it  up  there  over  night,  as  it  was  too  hard  work  carrying 
it  up  every  day.  I  was  following  an  elk  trail  which  led  up  at 
an  easy  slope,  and  had  gained  a  clump  of  spruces,  when  eight 
or  nine  cow  and  calf  elk  came  running  down  the  steep  moun- 
tain at  top  speed.     They  were  seeking  brush  or  shade  farther 


44  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

down,  to  escape  the  big  horse-flies.  Continuing  upward,  1 
came  to  a  little  lake  at  the  foot  of  the  last  climb.  Before 
I  had  reached  the  summit  I  saw  some  objects  come  on  top 
of  a  peak  about  a  mile  northward,  and  the  telescope  revealed 
them  to  be  mountain  sheep,  among  them  three  rams.  They 
kept  coming  until  I  had  counted  over  thirty,  then  grad- 
ually worked  out  of  sight.  Taking  my  horse  up  to  the  last 
tree,  I  tied  her,  shouldered  the  camera,  and  started  along  the 
crest  of  the  ridge,  which  soon  became  very  narrow.  It  was 
almost  perpendicular  on  the  west,  and  very  precipitous  on  the 
east  side,  and  in  places  only  two  or  three  feet  wide.  I  was 
soon  across  this,  and  hurried  along  until  I  reached  the  hill 
where  the  sheep  had  been.  The  wind  was  in  the  west,  so  I 
looked  over  and  found  a  pocket  on  the  east  side  where  the 
sheep  were  lying  thickly  as  far  as  I  could  see.  Right  down 
from  the  peak  ran  a  ridge  to  the  east,  behind  which  I  must 
work,  as  I  could  not  pass  on  account  of  the  wind,  which  blew 
almost  constantly.  Dropping  back  a  few  yards,  I  soon  worked 
down  behind  the  ridge,  but  the  shaly  limestone  required  very 
slow,  careful  work  to  prevent  a  fall.  Crawling  out  to  the 
edge,  I  made  a  thorough  search  to  see  how  many  there  were 
and  what  could  be  done,  and  found  I  could  go  no  farther,  but 
must  let  them  come  to  me.  Ere  long  they  were  all  up  and 
feeding,  and  I  counted  fifty-six.  When  they  had  worked 
within  about  two  hundred  yards,  I  exposed  a  plate  with  the 
telephoto  lens  on  the  thickest  part  of  the  herd,  and  covered 
thirty-six.     (No.  2.)     They  were  all  feeding,  so  their    heads 


>  > 


.';♦'"• 


5i 


CAMERA    SHOTS   AT    BIG   GAME  45 

were  down,  and  I  reasoned  that  if  I  alarmed  them  they  would 
leave  and  be  harder  to  get  at,  so  resolved  to  keep  out  of  sight 
and  work  on  them  there  as  long  as  I  could.  I  made  five  ex- 
posures in  all,  but  only  the  one  showed  them  well.  After  an 
hour  or  more  they  gradually  fed  right  round  beneath  me  and 
within  seventy-five  yards,  but  I  could  not  get  the  camera 
pointed  down  quick  enough  to  catch  the  rams  as  they  passed, 
and  the  two  plates  exposed  were  not  good.  So  I  carefully 
slipped  away  and  left  them  feeding.  About  half  a  mile  back 
I  came  to  a  big  elk  trail,  and  left  my  camera  there,  taking 
only  the  plate-holders  to  camp  to  change.  I  returned  to 
camp,  much  elated  at  my  supposed  success,  as  I  had  been  told 
for  years  that  I  could  not  get  photographs  of  mountain  sheep. 
The  next  morning  I  rode  to  the  foot  of  the  range,  picketed 
the  horse,  and  started  up  the  elk  trail.  It  was  very  steep,  but 
good  footing,  and  in  half  an  hour  I  was  getting  pretty  well  up 
when  I  saw,  down  below  me,  two  rams  looking  in  my  direc- 
tion. I  remained  motionless  until  they  seemed  at  ease,  then 
moved  along,  keeping  out  of  sight,  and,  when  I  could,  watch- 
ing them.  When  they  were  hidden  I  moved  on  toward  the 
camera.  Thinking  that  perhaps  they  would  follow  the  trail,  I 
picked  up  the  camera  when  I  reached  it,  and  moved  on  to  a 
good  lookout  and  watched  for  them.  Could  I  have  gone 
where  I  wished,  they  would  have  come  right  to  me;  but  the 
wind  drove  me  to  another  place,  so  they  were  three  hundred 
yards  from  me  when  they  reached  the  top.  They  quickly 
passed,  climbing  the  hill  west  of  the  pass  and  going  out  of 


46  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG   GAME 

sight.  Taking  but  one  plate-holder,  as  the  climb  was  hard,  I 
followed,  and,  on  reaching  the  top,  saw  them  lying  down. 
Keeping  under  the  edge  of  the  hilltop,  I  could  work  to  the 
right  until  under  cover  of  some  trees,  and  then  from  clump  to 
clump  until  I  was  near  them.  The  wind  was  now  blowing  a 
gale,  so  that  they  could  not  hear  me.  Presently  I  found  that  I 
could  not  pass  either  side  of  a  clump  of  dwarf,  stunted  spruce 
without  being  seen ;  so,  taking  my  pocket  knife,  I  cut  my  way 
through  the  clump  and  went  on  up  to  the  next  one,  which 
was  directly  in  line  with  the  one  I  had  cut  through.  I  was  now 
within  a  hundred  yards,  and  had  to  use  great  caution,  as  the 
larger  ram  was  very  uneasy  and  watchful.  I  worked  on  to 
another  cover  of  spruce,  and  found  I  was  something  like  sixty 
yards  from  them  and  could  go  no  farther.  So,  carefully  raising 
the  camera,  I  aimed  it  over  the  top.  The  big  ram  was  stand- 
ing nibbling  at  some  herbage  when  I  exposed.  On  account 
of  the  wind,  I  gave  too  short  an  exposure,  and  had  the  camera 
pointed  too  high.  Lowering  the  camera,  I  turned  the  plate- 
holder,  and  when  next  it  was  aimed  the  ram  was  standing 
with  his  head  from  me  and  evidently  alarmed  (No.  5),  so  I 
exposed  again.  This  time  the  camera  was  aimed  high,  but 
cut  off  only  his  feet  at  the  bottom  of  the  plate.  The  ram 
lay  down  then,  and  I  debated  whether  to  go  after  the  rest  of 
my  plates  or  not;  but  just  as  I  decided  to  go  the  quarry  took 
alarm  and  disappeared  around  some  cliffs  where  I  could  not  fol- 
low.    So  I  returned  to  the  trail  and  to  camp. 

Later  I  worked  the  pocket  where  I  saw  the  big  bunch,  but 


,  »»   »   •    I    • 


#;•".••    •• 


Photograplied  by  Mrs,   Wallihan. 


Cojijriglit,   1894,  by   k.   <i.  Wnllihan. 


Coming  in  to  drink. 
(Antelope  10) 


»  •  .  *  !    *   » 

J     •     >    •      « 


• ' .  ».    • 


CAMERA   SHOTS   AT  BIG    GAME  47 

they  were  scattered  and  I  could  get  no  more  exposures.  At 
the  other  end  of  the  range  I  found  two  ewes  and  a  yearling 
feeding  right  down  underneath  me  as  I  looked  off  a  cliff.  I 
made  an  exposure  on  them,  but  the  plate  broke  on  the  way 
home.  The  work  was  extremely  hard,  the  8  by  10  camera 
very  heavy,  and  often  I  would  reach  camp  utterly  exhausted. 
Circumstances  compelled  our  return  to  Green  River  without 
further  result.  On  this  range  I  saw,  one  day,  deer,  elk,  and 
mountain  sheep,  all  within  a  mile  of  one  another. 

Out  on  a  ledge  near  the  top  of  a  high  cliff  the  golden  eagle 
builds  a  nest  of  sticks — here  mostly  sage-brush,  which  is  used 
year  after  year.  Usually  they  lay  two  eggs,  but  occasionally 
three. 

Several  miles  from  my  home  was  a  nest  very  near  the  summit 
of  the  cliff,  just  within  reach  from  the  top.  I  went  there 
several  times  to  get  a  picture  of  the  old  hen  bird.  Twice  I 
had  good  chances,  but  one  one-hundredth  second  was  too  slow, 
so  I  tried  one  two-hundred-and-fiftieth,  and  finally  one  five-hun- 
dredth second,  and  the  result  was  almost  perfect.  The  eagle 
went  down  off  the  nest,  as  there  was  no  wind  to  raise  her,  so 
the  view  is  of  her  back. 

Rattlesnakes  are  not  the  kind  of  companions  chosen  by  many, 
but  they  are  met  with  frequently  in  certain  parts  of  the  West, 
and  many  times  at  the  wrong  moment.  On  Spring  Creek 
there  is  a  veritable  den  of  them  in  a  rocky  hillside.  The  first 
one  we  found  was  near  a  cactus,  so  I  had  my  companions  try 
to  keep  him  near  it  while  I  prepared  the  camera.     The  snake 


48  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

finally  concluded  it  could  not  get  away,  so  turned,  and  crawling 
slowly  into  a  hollow  in  the  cactus,  coiled  itself  ready  to  strike. 
(No.  2.)  I  was  much  surprised  at  this,  bearing  in  mind  the 
tales  of  the  road-runner,  or  chaparral-cock,  with  his  fence  of 
cactus.  After  despatching  this  snake,  we  proceeded  probably 
three  hundred  yards  before  finding  a  second.  Before  I  could 
expose  on  this,  another  one  was  found,  and  while  one  guarded 
them,  search  was  made  for  more,  until  seven  were  gathered, 
when  I  made  a  group  exposure  on  them  at  something  like 
three  feet  distance.     (No.  3.) 

The  snowshoe-rabbit  inhabits  the  timbered  country  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  ranges,  preferring  spruce  timber  to  pine; 
but  so  far  as  my  observation  goes,  only  in  the  higher  parts. 
He  is,  in  size,  midway  between  the  cottontail  and  the  jack- 
rabbit,  and  is  a  comparatively  clumsy  animal.  His  feet  are 
capable  of  a  wider  spread  than  those  of  the  others,  allowing 
him  to  run  over  lighter  snow.  In  summer  they  are  a  blue- 
gray,  the  fur  far  more  beautiful  than  that  of  his  brothers,  his 
feet  retaining  their  winter  whiteness.  In  the  fall  they  turn 
to  a  snowy  whiteness — so  white  as  to  be  almost  invisible. 
Companions  of  mine  have  declared  that  I  was  absolutely  mis- 
taken when  trying  to  show  them  a  snowshoe-rabbit  on  the 
snow  at  a  few  feet  distance,  until  a  shot  from  my  revolver 
would  prove  their  error.  While  in  Wyoming  I  secured  two 
negatives  of  them,  but  neither  in  the  winter  coat  (Nos.  i  and  2). 

In  Wyoming,  on  Cottonwood  Creek,  I  found  plenty  of  ducks, 
and  by  some  patient  and  careful  work  caught  one  on  a  sand- 


•»'r'.i''i ',/'' 


c 

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c 


CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME  49 

bar,  with  his  head  tucked  under  his  wing.  As  I  carefully 
crawled  out  from  behind  some  willows,  with  the  camera  held 
ready,  the  duck  waked  and  started  for  the  water  instantly; 
so,  just  as  it  reached  the  edge,  I  snapped,  catching  two  ducks 
— the  real  and  the  reflection.  (No.  i.)  Shortly  afterward  I 
came  out  on  the  bank,  right  over  a  family  that  I  caught 
swimming.     (No.  2.) 

I  have  found  the  prairie-dog  the  hardest  to  catch  of  any- 
thing I  have  attempted.  The  nearness  required  for  anything 
so  small  is  the  great  trouble.  Without  a  camera,  they  allow 
me  to  approach  very  close;  but,  like  the  Indian,  they  draw  the 
line  at  the  instrument. 


CHAPTER  V 

jT  was  snowing  bitterly  as  I  rode  out  of  Meeker 
late  in  December,  '94;  but  I  cared  little  for  that, 
as  it  would  give  good  tracking,  and  Wells  had 
written  that  the  lions  were  thick,  so  I  was  anx- 
ious to  join  him  and  hear  the  music  of  the  hounds  once 
more.  Besides,  I  had  a  new,  quick  lens  and  a  new  8  by  i  o 
camera,  both  of  which  I  was  in  a  hurry  to  try  on  the  lions. 

Before  I  had  ridden  many  miles  the  storm  had  passed  by, 
and  when  I  rode  up  to  Wells's  camp  on  Dry  Fork,  a  branch  of 
Pice-ance  Creek,  it  was  fine  and  looked  good  for  the  morrow. 
Wells  met  me  with  a  cheery  welcome,  and  we  were  soon  stow- 
ing away  a  good  camp  supper  which  he  had  prepared.  The 
cabin  in  which  he  was  living  was  about  fifteen  feet  square,  and 
when  he  and  Patterson,  his  partner,  and  Frank  Wells,  his 
brother,  and  myself  were  bedded  down  on  the  floor,  in  company 
with  two  or  three  guests,  there  was  very  little  spare  room.  A 
cook-stove  occupied  one  corner,  together  with  the  table  and 
some  boxes  for  seats  and  the  necessary  provisions.  One  win- 
dow was  missing,  so  some  sheeting  was  tacked  across  it.  Plenty 
of  fat  pinon  wood  within  two  hundred  yards,  and  a  little  creek 
about  forty  yards  away,  insured  fire  and  water,  while  the  sur- 
rounding   hills    literally    swarmed    with    deer.      Patterson,    or 

so 


•  « 


Copyright, 'jj  A.  U.  WlUihao, 

The  Eagle  went  down  off  the  nest^,  so  the  view  is  of  her  back. 


•  ••,«« 


•     •••,••     •  • 
•  ■     >   *•    *       > 


•       •  •  • 


5. 


'*i 


J     >   J  •    «t      9 


Copyright,  by  A.  O.  Walliban. 


Copyright,  by  A.  (J.  Wulllhan. 


Two  views  of  Snow-Shoe  Rabbit  in  summer  coat. 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  51 

"  Pat,"  as  every  one  knows  him  best,  and  Frank  came  in  soon, 
and  next  morning  we  started  out  under  as  clear  a  sky  as  could 
be  wished  for.  The  hounds  were  coupled  in  pairs  and  crazy 
for  a  run.  "  Speckle  "  and  "  Spot,"  the  old  stand-bys;  "  Sport," 
the  tree-climber;  "Mike,"  also  a  good  climber;  "Music" 
and  "Talk"  and  "  Nixey "  comprised  the  hounds;  while 
"  Hector,"  part  staghound  and  part  shepherd, —  the  fastest  of 
the  pack,  and  as  such  nearly  always  obliged  to  tackle  the  lion 
on  a  run, —  closely  seconded  by  "  Tucker,"  Pat's  big  brown 
shepherd,  "  Gypsy,"  and  "  Ajax,"  made  up  the  crew.  Three 
or  four  miles  up  the  gulch  we  climbed  out  on  the  left  side,  and 
a  short  way  up  the  hill  found  a  lion  track  made  early  the  past 
night.  "Speckle"  and  "Spot"  were  turned  loose;  the 
younger  hounds  were  kept  back  till  the  trail  should  be  fresher. 
We  hurried  after,  and  only  overtook  them  at  a  place  where  they 
had  been  balked  by  a  band  of  horses  crossing  and  recrossing 
the  trail,  completely  obliterating  it.  The  dogs  took  the  back 
trail,  and  Wells  had  a  good  chase  to  get  them.  Meantime, 
Pat  crossed  the  horse  trails,  and,  finding  the  lion  trail,  blew 
his  horn  for  me  to  follow  him.  The  lion  was  now  up  on  a 
hilltop  where  it  was  open,  except  where  a  fire  had  killed  the 
pinon  timber  and  the  winds  had  blown  it  down.  I  noticed 
that  the  lion  turned  off  to  the  right,  evidently  towards  a  deer; 
but  as  Pat  was  going  straight  ahead,  I  followed  him.  Fifty 
yards  farther  the  lion  track  intersected  our  line  again,  but  he 
was  dragging  something  now,  and  this  was  nearly  sure  to  mean 
that  he  would  be  close  by  the  carcass  when  we  found  it.     I 


52  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME 

noticed  one  place  where,  for  about  twenty  feet,  the  lion  had 
carried  the  deer  clear  of  the  snow,  leaving  not  a  sign  but  its 
own  tracks.  A  little  way  ahead  the  track  led  to  the  edge  of 
the  hill,  and  here  I  overtook  Pat,  who  had  dismounted,  and 
walked  out  and  looked  down  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  lion 
running  away.  He  went  down  a  few  yards  and  found  a  spike- 
buck  and  the  tracks  of  the  lion  running  off.  Wells  came  up 
just  then,  and  the  whole  outfit  of  dogs  caught  the  fresh  scent, 
and  away  they  all  went,  making  noise  enough  to  terrify  any- 
thing. They  did  not  go  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before 
"  Hector"  had  the  lion  treed.  It  proved  to  be  a  female;  she 
was  in  a  spruce  tree  on  a  steep  hillside,  so  by  getting  on  the 
upper  side  I  could  get  nearly  on  a  level  with  her.  She  was 
resting  very  quietly  about  thirty  feet  up,  and  I  put  on  an  eight- 
een-inch  focus  lens  and  took  her  portrait  at  about  thirty-five 
feet.  (No.  3.)  The  snow  lay  on  the  boughs  just  as  it  had 
fallen,  and  made  a  beautiful  picture  as  we  looked  at  her.  The 
dogs  began  climbing,  and  presently  she  crawled  out  on  a  limb 
on  the  lower  side  of  the  tree,  and  I  went  down  to  get  a  run- 
ning picture  as  she  came  by.  Wells  scared  her  out,  and  she 
jumped  just  as  far  out  and  down  as  she  could, —  we  estimated 
it  to  be  one  hundred  feet, — striking  with  such  force  as  to  roll 
and  slide  quite  a  way  before  she  could  rise.  The  dogs  and 
she  went  by  so  fast  and  close  that  I  thought  it  useless  to  try 
them.  They  caught  her  in  the  gulch  a  few  yards  below  me,  and 
I  made  an  exposure  when  they  had  her  stretched  in  the  gulch, 
with  Pat  included  in  the  view.     (No.  4.)     The  dogs  soon  had 


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9 


CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  53 

her  helpless,  so  she  was  despatched  with  a  revolver  shot,  and 
taking  her  pelt,  we  went  up  and  helped  "  Sport "  and  "  Mike  " 
down  from  the  spruce  tree  up  which  they  had  climbed.  A 
week  later  saw  us  riding  down  the  creek  to  a  point  where 
we  could  climb  out  on  the  north  side.  Both  sides  of  the 
gulch  were  steep,  but  the  north  side  was  an  almost  impassa- 
ble cliff,  there  being  but  few  places  where  it  was  possible 
to  get  out,  thus  making  an  admirable  home  for  the  lions. 
They  would  come  to  the  cliffs  to  lie  down  during  the 
daytime  and  hunt  back  on  top  at  night.  Down  at  the 
G — H  ranch  we  turned  up  the  road  of  the  same  name,  which 
was  fearfully  steep.  Just  on  top  we  found  a  lion  track, 
but  it  was  too  old  to  put  the  dogs  on,  so  we  followed  back 
along  the  ridge  towards  camp.  When  nearly  opposite  camp 
we  came  upon  the  carcass  of  a  buck  deer  which  was  entirely 
eaten,  the  bones  alone  remaining.  Here  there  were  fresher 
tracks,  and  Pat  circled  a  little  to  see  which  way  the  game  had 
gone  out.  We  had  barely  started  after  him  when  the  dogs 
broke  away  and  were  off —  hounds,  shepherds,  and  all,  coupled 
and  uncoupled,  alike.  Fifty  yards  ahead  we  found  the  reason 
for  their  stampede.  There,  under  a  spreading  pinon  tree,  was 
a  fresh  deer  carcass,  only  partially  eaten,  and  leading  from  it 
were  the  telltale  jumps  in  the  snow  showing  where  the  lion 
had  run  as  it  heard  our  approach.  After  the  dogs  we  went 
pell-mell,  but  the  race  was  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ere  she 
treed.  Before  we  could  reach  the  place,  she  jumped  from  the 
first  tree  and  "  Tucker  "  caught  her  tail.     This  checked  her. 


54  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG    GAME 

so  she  ran  only  a  few  yards  to  the  next  tree,  where  she  was 
forced  to  climb  again.  The  camera  was  rapidly  set  up,  and 
using  the  eighteen-inch-focus  lens  again,  I  caught  her  face 
framed  in  pinon  boughs  as  she  thrust  her  head  out  to  watch  us. 
(No.  5.)  Then  I  put  on  the  quick  lens  and  took  a  snap-shot 
as  she  ran  by.  She  treed  within  fifty  yards,  and  some  of  the 
dogs  climbed  after  her.  Before  I  could  change  to  the  long- 
focus  lens,  a  drunken  cowboy  came  along  the  trail  and  wanted 
to  chase  her  out  and  rope  her,  and  so  I  took  a  snap-shot  at 
long  range  (No.  6),  as  there  was  a  gulch  between  and  the 
only  good  view  was  from  across  this.  Then  at  last  she  came 
out  of  the  tree  and  down  into  the  gulch,  where  the  dogs 
caught  and  finished  her. 

Two  days  later  we  found  the  trail  of  a  big  lion,  and,  as  it  was 
quite  fresh,  the  dogs  were  turned  loose.  But  in  their  hurry 
they  overran  the  trail,  and  some  deer  ran  out  ahead  of  them, 
whose  trail  they  took,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts.  Hardy  and  I 
stayed  by  the  lion  trail,  while  Wells  and  Pat  went  after  the 
dogs.  When  found,  they  had  bayed  a  big  buck,  and  in  the 
fight  that  ensued  "Speckle"  received  an  injury  that  laid  him 
up  for  nearly  a  month.  When  Wells  got  back  we  waited  for 
Pat  awhile,  but  could  hear  nothing  of  his  horn,  so  put  the 
hounds  on  the  lion  trail  again,  and  in  five  minutes  had  him 
treed.  Two  of  the  dogs  were  still  coupled,  and  Wells,  fearing 
they  would  get  the  worst  of  it  in  a  fight,  ran  right  in  under  the 
tree,  within  ten  feet  of  the  lion,  to  uncouple  them.  The  lion 
jumped  at  this,  ran  about  three  hundred  yards,  and  bayed  on  top 


A      a    o   o       *> 
9"    o    o     09 


0      o    «        o      « 


O  9     too       t         O 


0  a       u  '    **  1 


a       o   •  o  o  ' 


o    "  '9    'Z    « 


o         "a"    9    ^u  "» 


o     o  9         t 


»   9  J  9  *    a 


'.: 


w 

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n 

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B 

09 


O 

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OQ 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  55 

of  a  cliff.  He  would  have  made  a  grand  picture  thus,  but  saw 
us  peering  from  behind  some  trees,  and  turned  and  sprang  off 
the  cliff  thirty  or  forty  feet.  The  dogs  had  to  run  along  the  top 
for  some  distance  before  they  dared  jump  to  a  lower  place,  and 
the  lion  got  quite  a  start.  We  stood  on  the  cliff  and  watched 
him  run  down  hill  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulch,  about  seventy- 
five  yards,  and  work  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  other  side. 
"Hector"  overtook  him  just  before  he  reached  the  top,  but 
would  not  attack  ;  so  they  went  on  side  by  side,  only  about  six 
feet  apart,  to  a  big  pifion  tree,  up  which  the  lion  sprang. 

When  we  reached  the  tree  I  found  that  it  was  so  thick  I 
could  not  get  a  clear  view,  so  planned  to  drive  him  back  down 
into  the  gulch  and  catch  him  running.  Wells  and  Hardy 
clubbed  and  snowballed  him  for  a  long  time,  but  without 
effect.  Wells  was  at  length  obliged  to  shoot  off  the  limb  he 
clung  to,  and  that  brought  him  quickly  to  terms.  His  speed 
was  too  great  for  me  to  snap  as  he  passed,  but  the  dogs  soon 
caught  him  in  the  gulch. 

Now,  I  confess,  I  was  a  little  nervous,  waiting  down  there, 
alone  and  unarmed ;  for  he  had  shown  signs  of  ugliness,  and  we 
had  only  part  of  the  dogs,  on  account  of  Pat's  absence.  How- 
ever, I  was  willing  to  risk  the  danger  for  the  sake  of  the  pic- 
ture. When  the  dogs  bayed  him  I  rushed  up  close  and  took 
a  snap-shot,  but  he  was  backed  up  in  the  shadow,  so  that  the 
negative  was  poor.  I  ran  back  a  few  yards,  Wells  helped  me 
turn  the  plate-holder,  and  I  tried  for  a  second  picture.  Just 
then  he  made  a  charge  out  at  me,  and  I  need  hardly  say  that 


56  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

I  retreated  in  disorder.  "  Hector  "  very  quickly  caught  him,  and 
the  rest  helped,  so  I  ran  up  close  and  caught  them  fighting. 
(No.  9.)  Hardy  had  got  around  opposite  me,  and  Wells 
had  closed  up  when  the  lion  charged  me,  so  I  caught  them 
both  at  "ready.*'  Wells  then  concluded  to  stop  the  fight,  so 
told  Hardy  to  kill  the  lion,  which  he  did. 

Pat  came  up  a  little  later,  so  I  grouped  the  three  and  part 
of  the  dogs  back  of  the  lion,  and  snapped  them.  (No.  10.)  This 
lion  was  about  the  largest  I  ever  saw,  measuring  seven  feet  five 
inches  from  tip  to  tip  before  skinning.  I  think  his  hide, 
stretched,  would  have  measured  ten  feet  easily.  He  was  thirty- 
one  inches  high  at  shoulder,  thirty-three  inches  girth  just  back 
of  fore  legs,  thirty-six  inches  girth  at  center  of  body,  and 
twenty-five  inches  at  flank  ;  the  forehead  was  six  inches  between 
his  ears,  the  girth  of  the  neck  eighteen  inches,  and  around  his 
fore  leg  thirteen  inches ;  his  tail  formed  one  third  of  his  length. 


>;;ivJi  /. 


Copyright,  m'JO,  b/  A.  O.  (\ii.iiU;m. 


"  Her  face  framed  in  pinon  boughs." 
(Cougar  5) 


k      •  .   • 
•  •    »  • 


.•  •     • 


CHAPTER  VI 

|HE  dogs  being  more  or  less  crippled  from  the 
fight  with  the  lion  and  the  buck,  we  were  lay- 
ing off  a  day,  which  Hardy  took  advantage  of  to 
hunt  deer  in  the  afternoon.  He  had  not  been 
gone  long  before  we  saw  him  returning  in  apparent  haste,  and, 
surmising  that  he  had  found  a  lion  track  near  camp,  we  were 
watching  him,  when  his  horse  turned  acrobat  and  both  landed 
in  the  snow.  He  came  on  and  informed  us  that  he  had  found 
a  track  a  short  distance  up  Dark  Canon.  As  it  was  one  of  the 
brightest  of  Colorado  days,  we  quickly  decided  to  try  and  get 
the  lion.  So  we  hurriedly  saddled  and  rode  up  to  the  track. 
At  first  we  thought  it  a  wolf,  but  on  following  a  short  dis- 
tance, a  change  in  the  snow  enabled  us  to  tell  that  it  was  a 
lion;  so  the  hounds  were  uncoupled.  "Speckle,"  the  re- 
liable, was  left  in  camp,  as  he  had  been  too  badly  hurt  the  day 
before  to  go  ;  so  "Spot"  was  put  in  the  lead,  and  away  they  went 
up  the  hill  to  the  west,  while  we  followed  as  fast  as  possible. 
We  had  hardly  got  started,  it  seemed,  before  the  dogs  were 
balked  by  a  piece  of  bare  ground  to  which  the  trail  led.  Pat- 
terson went  across  afoot  and  found  where  the  lion  had  left  it ; 
so  when  the  dogs  were  once  more  gathered — for  they  were 
working  hard  to  find  the  trail  —  they  were  put   on,  and  we 

57    • 


58  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

soon  had  the  Hon  up,  and  after  a  very  short  run  she  treed. 
We  approached  cautiously,  and  stopped  behind  some  trees, 
out  of  sight.  The  camera  was  quickly  made  ready,  and  I 
moved  up  behind  a  small  tree  until  very  close.  Carefully  I 
looked  around  this  tree  until  I  discovered  the  great  cat  sitting 
up,  apparently  indifferent,  in  a  tall  cedar  just  in  front.  She 
had  not  discovered  us  yet,  and  as  she  w^as  in  good  position,  I 
stepped  out  and,  turning  the  camera  up,  snapped  it  on  her. 
She  saw  me  the  instant  I  moved,  and  so  was  looking  right 
down  at  me.  (No.  1 1 .)  In  a  moment  she  jumped,  but  ran 
only  a  hundred  yards  or  so  and  treed  again.  This  time  I 
thought  I  would  try  a  running  picture;  so,  going  up  carefully 
behind  another  convenient  tree,  I  kept  out  of  sight  while  Wells 
and  Patterson  made  a  detour  and  came  up  opposite  and  threw 
a  club  at  her,  when  she  jumped  out  on  my  side  and  ran  by 
within  ten  feet.  She  was  too  close,  for  the  plate,  when  devel- 
oped, showed  only  a  blurred  streak.  She  treed  again,  very 
close,  and  I  tried  again  for  a  running  picture,  but  she  did  not 
come  just  right.  She  treed  a  fourth  time,  close  again,  and 
Wells  reconnoitered  and  reported  it  a  good  place  for  a  jumping 
picture,  for  which  we  were  watching.  I  went  round  to  the 
side  next  the  sun,  which,  fortunately,  was  open,  and  a  little 
cedar  gave  me  the  chance  to  approach  just  right  without  being 
seen.  The  others  approached  on  the  opposite  side  as  close  as 
was  prudent,  until  my  signal  that  I  was  ready,  when  they  came 
up  noisily,  one  of  them  throwing  a  club  into  the  tree,  which 
started  her.     The  ground  sloped  downward  toward  me  from 


a       »    J      «    «    I       J 

I  »      »      it     I         » 


.  '  J 

•     J     '  •  *     •  ••.••*.•»»•>.> 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  59 

the  tree  she  was  in,  and  she  stepped  out  to  the  edge  as  far  as 
she  could  before  leaping.  At  the  instant  she  started,  I  stepped 
out  from  behind  the  cedar,  and  had  just  got  in  the  open  when 
she  leaped  almost  directly  at  me.  Just  as  she  cleared  the  tree, 
so  that  she  would  show  against  the  sky,  I  snapped,  and,  luckily, 
caught  her  perfectly.  (No.  12.)  She  took  ground  within  six 
feet  of  me. 

Bedlam  broke  loose  just  then,  all  the  dogs  taking  after  her, 
making  all  the  noise  they  could,  while  I  voiced  an  exultant 
yell  that  would  have  done  credit  to  an  Apache.  As  Wells 
came  up  I  told  him  that  snap-shot  would  never  be  beaten. 
She  ran  out  into  an  open  patch  of  ground,  but  did  not  get  over 
two  hundred  yards  before  there  was  a  great  commotion,  and 
we  knew  that  "Hector"  had  pursued  his  usual  staghound  trick 
of  throwing  his  quarry.  In  a  few  seconds  there  arose  a  mingling 
of  growls,  barks,  and  yells  which  indicated  a  grand  fight ;  and 
the  way  we  went  down  that  hill  I  shall  never  forget.  As  we 
approached.  Wells  helped  me  and  I  put  in  the  slide,  turned 
the  plate-holder,  and  drew  the  other  slide,  and,  setting  the 
shutter,  approached  closer  for  a  snap  at  the  fighters.  (No.  13.) 
Hardy  got  into  close  quarters  and  had  to  run  out  on  the  op- 
posite side  just  as  I  approached.  Seeing  a  good  chance,  I 
snapped  again,  then  had  to  "retreat  with  honor."  The  dogs 
soon  got  the  best  of  her,  and  in  a  few  moments  had  killed  her. 
Wells  and  Patterson  both  told  me  they  would  not  care  to  have 
her  come  quite  so  close  as  she  had  done  in  the  leap,  my  only 
weapon  being  a  pocket  knife.      I  have  since  made  several  at- 


6o  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

tempts  to  get  leaping  pictures,  but  they  were  all  failures.  Next 
morning  I  gathered  the  faithful  cripples  into  a  forlorn-looking 
group,  and  photographed  them,  as  well  as  the  scene  at  camp, 
showing  the  lions  and  deer,  all  hanging  on  a  rack  (No.  14) ; 
and  I  caught  Pat  and  Hardy  in  the  act  of  hanging  up  one  deer 
(No.  15),  while  Wells  and  his  brother  Rob  are  skinning  another. 

Our  next  successful  hunt  was  about  a  week  later,  when  we 
found  the  track  of  a  young  lion,  about  three  quarters  grown, 
just  over  the  ridge  from  where  we  had  killed  the  last  one. 
We  had  quite  a  time  getting  the  trail  straightened  out,  as  the 
cub  had  killed  a  fawn  deer  and  had  fed  on  it  for  a  day  or 
more  when  we  found  it,  and  had  tracked  the  scent  all  about 
the  place.  I  followed  his  track  up  to  where  he  had  leaped 
over  a  bush  upon  the  fawn's  back  and  brought  it  down.  The 
snow  showed  but  few  struggles  on  the  part  of  the  fawn. 
Some  one  found  a  fresh  track,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  dogs 
had  the  cub  up  a  tree.  It  was  a  cedar  which  grew  at  the 
foot  of  a  ledge  of  rocks,  so  that  when  I  crept  up  behind  a 
pinon  which  grew  on  top  of  the  ledge,  camera  in  hand,  I  was 
only  fifteen  feet  from  the  lion.  Quickly  I  slipped  out  into 
clear  view  and  snapped  on  him.  (No.  16.)  As  he  saw  me  he 
jumped  down  among  the  dogs,  who  barely  missed  catching 
him  before  he  climbed  again,  about  fifty  yards  below.  We 
could  not  drive  him  out  of  this  tree,  so  killed  him  where  he 
was. 

We  now  had  to  wait  for  a  fresh  fall  of  snow,  as  it  was  al- 
most impossible  to  trail  anything.     The  south  hillsides  were 


< ;  '    c 


«     t  «  <   ,t  « 


Cupjrljht,  1897,  by  bj  A.  G.  Wmlahiio. 


"  A  very  wild  female.      With  much  care  I  was  able  to  get  a  view  of  her  head.' 

(Cougar  21) 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  6i 

getting  bare,  and  in  this  country  a  hound  is  helpless  on  dry 
ground.  We  had  but  a  short  time  to  wait,  and  soon  found  a 
big  track  about  noon.  We  came  upon  two  deer  carcasses,  eaten 
up  clean  and  abandoned,  while  following  this.  A  mile  away  the 
dogs  ceased  baying,  and  set  up  their  "treed"  bark.  This  lion 
proved  to  be  a  short,  chunky  specimen,  very  fat,  and  gorged 
with  deer  meat.  He  went  quite  up  to  the  top  of  the  second 
tree,  after  the  boys  drove  him  out  toward  me  from  the  first 
one.  He  jumped  well,  but  it  was  in  the  shadow  of  the  tree, 
and  too  dark  for  a  quick  snap,  so  I  waited  and  snapped  as  he 
ran  away,  but  the  snow  he  threw  up  hid  all  but  his  ears  and 
tail.  He  was  so  full  that  he  ran  but  a  little  way.  On  this 
occasion  "  Sport"  now  distinguished  himself.  The  tree  forked 
near  the  ground,  the  lion  going  up  the  large  fork,  while 
"Sport"  took  the  small  one.  He  went  as  high  as  he  could 
go,  then  stood  barking  at  the  lion  about  five  or  six  feet  away. 
(No.  17.)  The  game  would  occasionally  make  a  ferocious 
dash  at  him,  spitting  and  growling  the  while,  but  could  not 
quite  reach  him.  Pat  stood  just  below  me,  with  his  rifle 
ready  to  kill  when  I  snapped  the  shutter.  His  cap  and  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun  show  in  the  picture.  I  then  went  on  the 
lower  side  to  try  and  get  a  jumping  or  running  picture,  but 
the  lion  could  not  be  induced  to  come  out  even  when  Pat 
shot  him  through  the  paw.  Pat  shot  him  again,  and  this 
time  he  fell.  The  dogs  grabbed  him  instantly  and  dragged 
him  down  close  to  me,  while  Pat  and  Wells  ran  in  close  to 
finish  him  if  he  should  get  a  bad  hold  of  any  dog.     It  was  un- 


62  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

necessary,  however,  as  the  whole  pack  was  upon  him,  excepting 
"Sport."  They  had  him  stretched  out  (No.  i8)  when  I 
snapped.  Two  cowboys  who  had  accompanied  us  this  day 
were  just  coming  under  the  tree  when  "Sport"  fell  in  the 
snow  beside  them.  They  thought  it  was  another  lion,  and 
came  near  stampeding. 

I  went  up  to  the  deer  carcass,  which  the  lion  had  covered 
completely  with  snow,  and  traced  out  the  scene  of  the  killing. 
The  deer  was  lying  under  a  tree,  and  the  lion  had  crept  right 
up  over  open  ground  to  spring.  The  deer  had  never  risen 
from  his  bed,  but  was  killed  as  he  lay. 

The  following  winter  Wells  and  I  hunted  faithfully  for  six 
weeks,  but  never  found  so  much  as  a  good  track. 

New  Year's  day,  1897,  found  me  again  at  Wells's  camp, 
awaiting  his  return  from  Meeker,  whither  he  had  gone  to  have 
a  grand  lion  hunt  with  the  Meeker  boys  and  John  Goff's  pack 
of  hounds.  Wells  had  arranged  to  carry  the  camera  and  plate- 
holders  on  a  pack-horse,  instead  of  slung  over  our  shoulders  as 
heretofore,  and  this  was  much  more  comfortable,  if  not  quite 
so  quick.  The  first  lion  was  treed  in  a  dark,  shady  place  in  a 
pinon  tree.  These  trees  are  scrubby  and  have  limbs  from  the 
ground  up,  which  gave  "Sport"  and  the  other  dogs  their  oppor- 
tunity to  climb.  "Sport"  did  climb  and  stood  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  tree  trunk  from  this  lion,  but  not  close  enough  to 
attack.  The  lion  was  backed  out  on  a  limb,  with  his  face  to- 
ward the  trunk, and  "  Sport"  passed  around  the  tree,  between  the 
lion  and  the  tree,  his  tail  actually  slapping  the  lion  in  the  face. 


»    '  ',  •. 


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cc pyR>G/*T,  /aS'^^BY  A.G-wAi.  1.1  H^H- 


<2.^a^<OKy  C.^ZayO'^'i^,   <2yL(S^i^^i^n^^y<Zy9'Z^y<P9Z^y^^ 


•  •  •      fc  .  •      • 

.'.  \i'i '",  ••• • 


CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME  63 

The  lion  caught  his  claws  in  the  hide  of  "Sport's"  back,  and 
Wells  held  his  rifle  on  the  lion,  ready  to  kill,  but  he  finally  re- 
leased the  dog  and  "Sport"  passed  on.  I  had  a  slow  lens  on  the 
camera  and  could  not  get  a  snap  of  this,  and  doubt  if  the 
negative  would  have  been  good,  as  the  place  was  quite  shady. 
My  time  pictures  here  were  under-exposed. 

Our  next  lion  was  a  cub  which  "Hector  "  and  "  Ajax"  killed 
when  it  fell  from  the  tree  in  which  we  found  it.  Going  home 
the  same  night.  Wells  killed  a  female  lion,  and  two  days  later 
we  found  the  trail  of  a  big  one  and  soon  had  him  treed.  He 
was  in  a  bad  tree,  so  Wells  drove  him  out  and  he  treed  again 
about  a  hundred  yards  away.  Here  he  was  in  no  better  place, 
so  we  drove  him  again.  He  ran  down  across  a  gulch,  and  just 
before  he  reached  a  tree  on  the  other  side  "Hector"  caught 
him,  and  they  tumbled  back  into  the  gulch.  "Ajax"  and 
"Talk"  and  "Nixey  "  fell  to,  and  there  was  a  hard  fight  for  a 
few  moments.  Wells,  fearing  that  so  few  dogs  might  get  the 
worst  of  the  fray,  ran  down  the  hill  and  up  the  gulch,  while  I 
was  hurrying  as  fast  as  possible;  carrying  the  camera,  ready  for 
exposures ;  but  I  could  not  get  there  in  time,  as  Wells  shot  the 
lion  when  he  was  close  enough.  The  lion  had  charged  him 
at  twenty  feet.  He  said  the  lion's  eyes  were  green  and  his 
ears  were  laid  back,  his  fangs  and  claws  showing,  and,  altogether, 
he  was  not  a  pretty  sight,  and  as  he  spoke  I  noticed  that  his 
hands  were  shaking. 

The  next  lion  we  found  was  a  very  wild  female.  Every  time 
we  approached  to  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  of  the  tree  she  was 


64  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG    GAME 

in,  out  she  would  spring  to  another,  and  "Hector"  had  his  fill 
of  chases  that  day.  After  three  or  four  of  these  rushes  she  was 
panting  like  a  winded  horse.  With  much  care  I  was  able  to 
get  a  view  of  her  head  over  the  boughs  in  the  top  of  a  low 
piiion  (No.  21 ),  and  another  where  she  was  sprawled  from  limb 
to  limb  in  about  as  awkward  a  pose  as  she  could  get  (No.  22). 
Wells  shot  her  while  in  this  tree. 

We  began  to  think  the  fates  were  against  us,  as  we  had  killed 
four  lions  without  catching  a  single  good  negative.  In  the 
face  of  this,  we  resolved  to  take  only  two  hounds  out.  Two 
dogs  alone  will  not  attack  a  lion,  should  they  catch  him  on  the 
ground,  but  will  simply  bay  him.  It  was  a  week  or  more  be- 
fore the  snow  was  good  again.  Then,  one  afternoon,  I  found 
the  trail  of  a  big  lion  not  far  from  camp;  and  taking  "Speckle** 
and  "Nix,"  I  had  the  lion  treed  in  less  than  ten  minutes.  This 
lion  jumped  out  of  the  first  tree  as  we  came  up,  but  ran  only 
about  a  hundred  yards.  Here  I  took  a  face  view  with  a  tele- 
photo  lens  at  thirty  feet  (No.  23),  then  a  broad  side  view  at 
twenty-five  feet  (No.  24) ;  then  we  drove  him  out  over  the  hill 
and  down  into  a  gulch.  We  could  hear  the  dogs  barking  be- 
low us,  and,  finally,  could  see  them.  The  lion  had  bayed  on 
the  ground,  backing  up  against  a  little  ledge  not  over  four  feet 
high.  When  we  approached  he  sprang  into  the  nearest  tree, 
about  fifty  yards  away.  Here  I  used  my  remaining  four  plates, 
getting  two  excellent  views  at  about  twenty-five  feet  (Nos.  25 
and  26).  We  tried  our  best  to  drive  him  out,  but  without  suc- 
cess.    Once  or  twice  I  approached  within  twenty  feet,  but  he 


1  .  •  •  •     •  • 


•  •.  •-  •  ?    •- 


•  •• ,'.  ;••  ;•  :  ;   >t 


Copjr;;h«,  1897,  bj  A.  O.  W»i:lh»n. 


With  a  tele-photo  lens  at  thirty  feet." 
(Cougar  23) 


^   Ct,  i 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT   BIG    GAME  65 

made  ready  to  spring  at  me,  so  I  retreated,  even  though  I  car- 
ried a  forty-five  Colt  revolver. 

In  the  end  we  concluded  to  let  this  lion  go  and  chase  him 
on  the  morrow  with  six  more  plates.  So  Wells  called  off 
"  Speckle  "  and  "  Nix  "  and  went  for  the  horses,  while  I  picked  up 
the  camera  and  went  on  down  the  gulch  until  out  of  sight. 
Then  cautiously  I  returned  to  see  what  the  lion  would  do.  In 
about  five  minutes  he  came  leisurely  down  from  the  tree  and 
walked  ofl^,  looking  neither  to  right  nor  left  while  he  was  in 
sight. 

The  next  morning  we  were  joined  by  a  young  ranchman  as 
we  rode  down  the  creek  to  pick  up  the  trail.  It  led  down 
into  Pice-ance  Creek  and  across  and  up  a  steep  hill  on  the 
west.  Thence  it  followed  on  across  some  bare  ground,  but 
we  soon  circled  that  and  picked  it  up  where  it  led  up  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain.  After  a  mile  or  two  it  became  apparent 
that  the  game  had  turned  down  on  the  north  side,  facing 
White  River,  and  soon  the  dogs  had  him  running.  He  proved 
to  be  lazy,  however,  and  almost  at  once  took  to  a  tree.  We 
tied  our  horses,  except  the  pack-horse,  which  we  led  down. 
The  lion  jumped  before  we  reached  the  tree,  but  went  only  a 
little  way.  I  tried  once  for  a  jumping  picture,  but  failed. 
Wells  had  brought  his  fifty-caliber  Winchester,  so  when  we 
wanted  to  drive  the  lion,  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  shoot  off  the 
limb  or  part  of  the  tree  he  was  in,  and  down  he  came.  We 
finally  got  him  bayed  on  the  ground,  and  I  caught  two  very 
vicious-looking  views  of  him  (Nos.  27  and  28),  going  as  close 


66  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME 

as  I  dared.     Suddenly  he  turned  and  disappeared  over  the  edge 
of  the  gulch.     We  rushed  out,  but  could  see  no  sign  of  where 
he  had  gone  until  Wells  went  down  into  the  gulch  and  found 
there  was  a  little  cliff  there,  and  the  lion  had  crawled  around 
in  a  crevice  and  was   lying   there  very  quietly.      I  took  the 
camera  down  in  the  gulch,  and,  putting  on  the  telephoto  lens, 
took  a  farewell  view  of  the  game  as  it  lay  panting  in  the  rocks. 
(No.  29.)      It  was  now  so  near  night  that  we  killed  him  and 
climbed  back  to  our  saddle-horses  and  rode  away  home.      We 
noticed  some  tracks  on  this  mountain,  so,  two  or  three  days 
later,  we  rode  in  there  and  about  noon  found  a  fresh  trail  lead- 
ing away  southward.     We  now  had  four  hounds,  "  Speckle  "  and 
"  Nix,"  "  Sport "  and  "  Talk,"  and  all  were  getting  to  work  finely. 
We  trailed  several  miles  until  night  came  on,  so  called  the  dogs 
off  and  rode  back  to  camp.      In  the  morning  two  friends  accom- 
panied us  to  the  trail,  which  still  led  straight  away,  and  we 
rode  as  rapidly  as  the  dogs  could  go.      Much  of  the  time  the 
trail  led  through  open  sage-brush  parks  in  the  cedar  and  pinon 
timber,  and  we  could  keep  right  up  with  the  dogs,  who  were 
working    magnificently.     Finally  we  found    the  carcass  of  a 
fawn  which  the  lion  had  eaten  the  night  before,  leaving  noth- 
ing but  the  hide  and  bones,  which  he  had  buried  in  the  snow. 
A  little  way  from  here  the  tracks  became  very  hard  for  the 
dogs  to  follow,  on  account  of  the  melting  of  the  snow,  and  we 
were  helping  the  dogs  all   we  could  when  "Sport"  suddenly 
broke  out,  and  away  they  all  went  like  a  cyclone.    The  lion  must 
have  lain  close  until  we  were  within  sixty  yards  before  "Sport" 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  67 

started  him.  We  had  an  exciting  chase,  the  lion  doubling  two 
or  three  times,  but  it  was  only  a  short  time  until  he  treed.  I 
made  a  trial  for  another  leaping  picture,  but  through  my  own 
fault  missed  a  good  chance.  The  lion  was  so  tired  now  that 
he  went  only  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  but  did  not  tree. 
When  the  dogs  overtook  him,  he  must  have  caught  one  in  his 
claws,  for  we  could  hear  a  most  terrific  yelping.  Wells 
mounted  his  horse,  and  hurried  on,  while  we  packed  the  camera 
and  followed  as  quickly  as  we  could.  When  we  came  up 
the  lion  was  bayed  on  the  ground,  so  I  set  the  focus  for  thirty 
feet  and  walked  up  within  that  distance  and  took  a  snap.  (No. 
30.)  Then  I  went  round  to  get  a  different  view,  but  the  lion 
ran  to  the  next  tree.  Here  I  approached  within  fifteen  feet 
and  took  my  last  snap.  (No.  31.)  I  had  made  ready  for 
another,  but  as  the  lion  started  off  the  dogs  all  seized  him  and 
pulled  him  down.  He  caught  "Speckle"  and  would  almost 
certainly  have  killed  him  had  not  Wells  run  up  and  put  an 
end  to  the  fight.  Thus  closed  some  of  the  most  interesting 
and  thrilling  episodes  of  my  life.  It  was,  likewise,  the  last 
run  of  "Talk"  and  "Nix,"  for  the  next  day  they  ate  some 
poisoned  coyote  baits  and  died. 

After  we  had  finished  the  lion  hunt  in  January,  1895,  Wells 
accompanied  me  to  my  home  at  Lay,  where  wildcats  [Lynx 
rufus)  were  quite  plentiful,  and  where  there  were  no  deer  to 
trouble  our  dogs  and  draw  them  from  the  trail.  The  tracking 
was  fine  and  cats  plenty ;  so,  after  developing  the  lion  negatives, 
we  rode  out  into  the  cedars  after  cats.     We  let  the  dogs  range 


68  CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG    GAME 

free,  and  we  had  scarcely  got  started  through  the  first  cedars 
before  "Music"  had  a  cat  up  and  going.  After  a  short  run  we 
all  brought  up  at  a  hole  in  the  bank,  where  "bobby"  had 
taken  refuge.  There  was  no  getting  him  out,  so  we  barri- 
caded his  door  and  went  on.  Another  was  soon  found  and 
gave  us  a  pretty  good  run,  circling  round  and  round  the  cedars, 
which  were  not  over  one  half  mile  in  diameter.  Eventually 
he  climbed  a  good  tree  on  a  hillside,  so  that  I  could  get  on 
the  upper  side  of  the  tree  and  be  nearly  on  a  level  with  him. 
After  I  took  a  snap  at  him  at  about  twenty-three  feet  (No.  2), 
we  drove  him  out  and  the  dogs  had  another  short  run.  At 
this  tree  I  got  within  fifteen  feet  (No.  3),  according  to  the 
focussing  scale  on  my  camera.  I  used  the  eighteen-inch  focus 
lens,  which  was  the  back  lens  of  a  rectigraphic,  and  is  composed 
of  three  lenses.  We  chased  him  out  again,  and  at  the  next 
tree  I  fixed  for  a  jumping  picture,  but  he  went  out  so  far  around 
from  me  as  to  be  out  of  sight ;  however,  I  caught  him  run- 
ning (No.  4),  with  "Hector"  a  close  second.  In  the  upper 
left-hand  corner  you  can  see  the  snow  in  the  air  that  he 
knocked  off  the  tree  in  jumping  out,  and  the  trails  the  dogs 
made  running  through  the  snow  are  also  shown.  When 
he  next  treed  we  could  not  see  him,  so  drove  him  out  again. 
This  time  he  made  a  sharp  double  on  the  dogs,  and  they  all 
overran  but  one.  Then  he  came  back  close  to  Wells  and  me, 
and  stopped  under  a  cedar,  the  limbs  of  which  grew  out  near 
the  ground.  When  "Jeff" — one  of  the  dogs — ran  under 
them,  the  cat  sprang  at  once  on  his  back,  and  set  his  teeth 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  69 

and  claws  into  the  flesh.  The  pack  flew  to  "JefFs"  rescue, 
and  in  a  jiffy  "  bobby  '*  was  rather  a  sorry-looking  object. 

The  next  cat  we  found  would  not  tree,  but  gave  us  a  long 
chase  back  and  forth  all  through  a  larger  patch  of  cedars. 
We  came  up  to  the  dogs  two  or  three  times,  and  would  see  the 
cat  hiding  and  doubling  with  all  his  cunning  until  he  finally 
allowed  them  to  come  up  to  him  while  backed  up  under  an 
old  root,  where  he  was  killed.  Soon  after  we  found  another, — 
a  big  one,  that  treed  in  a  very  low  cedar  whose  top  came  level 
with  a  little  rocky  point  near  by,  so  that  I  secured  a  very  good 
view  (No.  5)  of  him. 

The  next  one  gave  us  a  good  chase  and  treed  in  a  cedar  top 
of  bare,  dead  limbs.  (No.  6.)  I  took  one  picture  of  him,  and 
tried  for  another  which  was  to  include  "Sport."  He  had  got 
started  up  the  tree  and  had  worked  to  within  three  feet  of  the 
cat;  but  just  as  I  was  about  to  snap  on  them,  the  little  limb 
broke,  and  "Sport"  had  a  grand  tumble.  Wells  got  him  started 
up  again,  and  this  time  I  caught  them  (No.  7),  but  "Sport"  was 
unable  to  get  his  footing  quite  so  high.  He  treed  a  last  time, 
but  hid  himself  so  that  we  could  not  see  him.  Finally,  Wells 
discovered  him  lying  flattened  out  on  the  thick  boughs  of  the 
tree- top,  and  I  made  ready  for  a  leaping  picture,  while  Wells 
made  him  jump  out.  His  speed,  however,  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  shutter,  so  the  effort  was  not  a  success.  During 
our  cat  chases  we  started  a  coyote  which  the  dogs  hunted 
for  about  three  hours,  when  he  came  to  bay  on  top  of  a  rock. 
On  the  west  side  the  rock  was  thirty  or  more  feet  high,  but 


70  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

on  .  the  other  side  the  hill  came  almost  to  its  top,  so  it  was 
easily  climbed.  We  left  two  hounds  on  top  with  him  until  I 
had  taken  a  couple  of  snaps  at  him,  which  were  worthless. 
Wells  then  hit  him  with  a  stone,  knocking  him  off  the  rock, 
down  to  "Hector"  and  the  rest  below. 

Another  one  ran  about  an  hour  and  took  to  a  hole  in  the 
bank,  where  we  left  him.  A  third  led  us  a  three  hours*  chase, 
but  circled  round  past  my  house,  where  "Music"  and  "Talk," 
being  but  young  dogs,  left  the  track  and  came  to  the  house. 
A  man  who  saw  them  said  the  coyote  was  but  three  or  four 
hundred  yards  ahead,  and  could  we  have  put  them  on  again, 
would  soon  have  been  captured. 


•     •  '    • 


>     f    •      a     • 


.'.  :•?:• 


•  •  •  •  • 


*  • 

•  •  » 
•*  •  • 


CHAPTER    VII 

(BY   MRS.  WALLIHAN) 

>E  were  camped  in  a  narrow  gulch,  as  near  the 
deer  trails  as  we  could  find  a  good  spot,  so  we 
would  have  but  a  short  walk  to  the  trail,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  far  enough  away  so  our  tent 
would  not  alarm  the  game.  We  were  out  early  one  fine 
morning,  Mr.  Wallihan  carrying  both  cameras  to  my  chosen 
waiting-place,  while  I  carried  the  tripods  and  plate-holders. 
He  left  me  and  went  on  to  the  top  of  a  cedar-covered  moun- 
tain, where  he  intended  to  select  a  good  place  for  his  camera. 

I  was  left  alone  to  set  up  my  instrument  and  watch  for  the 
deer  with  a  field-glass.  I  could  see  them  as  they  worked  over 
the  hill,  through  the  sage-brush,  and  then  disappeared  until 
they  came  right  out  in  front  of  me.  (No.  31.)  This  band 
was  a  very  large  one,  but  only  seven  came  near.  They  scented 
danger — you  could  tell  it  by  the  high  heads  and  wild  looks 
of  the  band.  It  was  weary  waiting;  for  when  the  weather  is 
fine  they  feed  along  the  trails  slowly,  and  unless  they  are  scared 
by  hunters  we  sometimes  wait  for  hours  before  a  deer  is  seen. 
We  have  to  be  very  watchful,  having  lost  several  fine  pictures 
by  being  caught  ten  or  twenty  feet  away  from  the  camera,  the 
deer  being  so  close  that  any  move  would  be  followed  by  instant 
flight. 

71 


72  CAMERA   SHOTS    AT    BIG   GAME 

On  another  occasion  we  were  out  again,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, my  husband  going  up  the  mountain  and  I  to  the  gulch. 
I  had  been  up  there  afoot,  and  had  ridden  my  pony  up,  but 
preferred  the  place  in  the  valley;  so  I  soon  had  the  camera 
ready,  and  sat  down  to  watch.  The  first  game  I  saw  was  a 
coyote,  who  came  to  the  water  for  a  drink.  He  seemed  to 
suspect  something,  for  he  ran  up  the  bank,  too  far  away  to  get 
his  picture.  Next  I  saw  a  band  of  deer  coming,  but  they 
went  away  round  me;  and  soon  I  heard  a  shot,  which  must 
have  been  from  a  man  who  was  working  for  us  and  who  was 
out  for  meat.  I  started  to  go  to  him,  but  concluded  to  return 
to  the  camera,  and  reached  it  just  in  time  to  see  a  lone  buck 
on  a  hill,  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards  away.  Hav- 
ing my  rifle  with  me,  I  took  quick  aim  and  fired.  Down  he 
went,  shot  in  the  neck.  He  had  been  on  a  quick  trot,  almost 
running.  I  had  hardly  reached  my  camera  before  I  saw  two 
deer  coming  down  the  gulch — one  a  fine  buck.  The  little 
beauty  came  along,  step  by  step,  carefully  watching  every  side. 
I  feared  they  would  take  fright,  so  snapped  on  him  while  he 
was  looking  down  the  gulch:  (No.  29.)  Bidding  them  good- 
night, I  returned  to  camp. 

We  were  camped  on  Bear  River,  at  the  head  of  Juniper 
Canon,  in  a  grassy  corner  where  sage-brush  and  cedar  were 
handy  for  wood.  At  dawn  we  were  ready  to  start  down  the 
canon  to  the  trail.  I  did  not  start  for  several  minutes  after 
my  husband,  and  so  hurried  as  fast  as  I  could  to  overtake  him. 
I  disliked  very  much  to  go  down  there  alone,  as  we  had  seen 


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CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME  73 

a  mountain-lion  track  in  the  sand  a  day  or  two  before.  As  I 
walked  briskly  along  under  a  big  cedar,  a  very  large  owl, 
who  was  sitting  on  a  limb  just  above  my  head,  flew  out. 
Imagine  how  it  startled  me,  not  seeing  it,  and  with  my  mind 
on  the  lions,  whose  den  was  just  across  the  river.  From 
there  on  I  almost  ran  until  I  came  to  the  place  where  I  was 
to  watch.  Here  was  a  large  pile  of  driftwood  and  brush,  and 
I  soon  had  the  camera  ready.  Before  long  a  small  band  came 
down  the  well-worn  trail, — first  a  doe  and  two  fawns,  then 
three  young  bucks  and  another  doe.  They  all  started  across 
but  the  old  doe,  who  stayed  near  the  shore  and  watched  them. 
When  they  approached  the  large  rock  they  scented  danger  and 
turned  back;  and  when  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  mad  race 
for  shore  I  snapped  on  them  (No.  35),  the  doe  still  standing 
as  at  first. 

The  following  morning  the  air  was  full  of  frost  as  we  took 
our  way  down  the  canon,  and  the  rocks  and  banks  were  slip- 
pery with  ice,  which  retarded  us  quite  a  little  in  our  walk  of 
a  mile.  When  we  came  in  sight  of  the  trail  a  band  of  deer 
were  climbing  the  steep  mountain  side,  so  we  had  to  wait  un- 
til they  were  out  of  sight.  They  soon  disappeared,  and  we 
hastened  to  our  chosen  places,  and  quickly  made  the  cameras 
ready.  Another  small  band  appeared  on  the  top  of  the  high 
cliff,  where  there  was  a  pass.  Then  they  came  out  in  full 
view,  jumping  and  running  in  haste  to  get  to  the  river  to 
quench  their  thirst,  for  they  had  traveled  a  long  way  without 
water.     In  this  deep  cafion  they  hardly  feared  danger.     While 


74  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

they  were  standing,  some  drinking  and  others  watching,  I 
snapped  on  them.     (No.   37.) 

Next  morning,  when  we  reached  our  stands  at  the  crossing, 
we  found  the  rocks  wet  where  many  deer  had  shaken  the 
water  from  their  sides.  No  deer  were  in  sight.  But  no  one 
could  tell  how  soon  they  might  come.  This  time  we  had  our 
cameras  close  together;  so,  leaving  my  husband  to  watch  for 
the  deer,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  surroundings.  Fish 
were  jumping  in  the  river,  and  many  little  birds  were  flying 
to  and  fro  on  the  water's  edge.  Now  and  then  a  flock  of 
ducks  came  down  on  the  water  above  us,  where  the  river  was 
wide  and  deep. 

"Look,"  said  my  husband;  "'way  up  yonder  comes  a  bunch 
of  deer."  And  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  shiny  coats  as  they  dis- 
appeared for  a  moment  in  the  brush,  only  to  come  out  again 
quickly  in  another  place. 

"About  twenty,  I  guess,"  said  I. 

"No,  not  that  many,"  he  replied;  "but  here  they  come,  so 
mum  's  the  word." 

I  could  not  help  wondering  how  sure-footed  they  were,  not 
to  stumble  or  fall  during  the  descent.  But  I  have  seen  a  deer, 
at  full  speed  coming  down  this  mountain,  turn  around,  head 
up  hill,  quick  as  thought,  scared  at  the  fall  of  a  rock. 

I  waited  until  I  was  sure  of  all  this  group,  and  then  snapped 
the  shutter.  (No.  36.)  Then  the  timid  old  leader  gave  a 
snort,  at  which  they  all  bolted  back  up  the  trail.  We  bade 
them  farewell,  as  we  were  to  return  home  on  the  morrow. 


«      «    «      •    «   *       • 
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•      *  J* 


,  •  . 


Cujijriglit.  l»i)7,  by  A.  O.  Wiiiihan. 


"  I  approached  within  fifteen  feet  and  took  my  last  snap.' 

(Cougar  31) 


« 


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Cop.Tright,  IS'.i:..  liv  A.  O.  WiKihan. 


'At  this  tree  I  got  within  fifteen  feet." 


Copjrlghl,  1805,  hj  A.  O.  W.llihan. 


"  A  big  one  that  treed  in  a  very  low  cedar." 
(Wild  Cats  3  and  5) 


CAMERA    SHOTS    AT   BIG    GAME  ys 

Monday  morning  finds  us  again  on  the  trail  near  our  home. 
With  my  camera  ready,  I  sit  and  watch.  How  slow  they  are 
to-day  !  I  say  to  myself.  Taking  the  field-glass,  I  walk  to  a 
higher  place  a  few  steps  away,  but  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sun 
on  the  shiny  coat  of  a  deer,  so  I  drop  to  my  knees  and  creep 
back  to  the  camera.  I  sit  almost  breathless,  watching  for 
them  to  come  into  the  gulch  and  then  down  to  the  chosen 
spot.  Suddenly  they  appear  —  the  leader  in  full  view,  then  an- 
other and  another  until  all  are  in  sight.  On  they  come,  right 
up  in  front.  I  want  that  big  buck.  Click  !  goes  the  shutter, 
and  I  have  them  all.  (No.  48.)  Now  I  will  try  another 
kind  of  gun,  so  I  raise  my  rifle  slowly  and  carefully,  so  they 
do  not  see  any  movement;  but  the  camera  is  in  the  way.  I 
drew  a  bead  on  the  big  fellow  and  fired,  but  somehow  the 
fawn  came  in  the  way  and  got  the  bullet  in  the  neck.  So 
much  for  not  holding  my  gun  tight. 

On  another  day  in  October  we  are  away  out  on  the  rolling 
hills,  far  from  any  human  habitation.  Without  a  road,  we 
wander  on  to  find  some  spring  where  the  antelope  come  for 
water.  All  day  long  we  held  on  over  hills  and  valleys,  fright- 
ening the  snowbirds  from  the  ground  in  large  flocks;  they  are 
omens  of  snow.  When  the  sun  is  low  in  the  west  we  come 
to  a  spring  in  a  gulch.  Finding  many  tracks  along  here,  we 
decide  to  camp.  In  the  morning,  early,  we  put  up  a  blind 
on  the  hillside,  where  we  hide  the  camera  and  wait  until 
noon.  No  game  came  in  sight,  so  we  had  lunch,  then  de- 
cided to  look  out  a  road  down  the  gulch,  as  we  must  move  to 


^(i  CAMERA    SHOTS    AT    BIG    GAME 

better  water.  My  husband  went  down  the  gulch,  while  I 
watched  the  camera  until  his  return.  I  had  not  waited  long 
before  an  antelope  came  in  sight  around  the  point  of  the  hill. 
They  often  come  singly  so.  I  thought  one  was  better  than 
none,  but  I  was  happily  disappointed,  as  four  more  appeared 
on  the  scene,  looking  and  watching  as  they  came.  A  fawn 
followed  at  a  little  distance,  but  the  bunch  came  so  close  I 
thought  best  not  to  wait  for  the  fawn,  so  snapped  the  shutter 
and  caught  them  just  in  time  (No.  2),  for  my  husband  ap- 
peared a  moment  later  and  they  vanished  at  once.  As  this 
was  my  first  picture  of  antelope,  I  was  well  pleased  with  it. 
They  are  so  wild  that  they  make  a  very  difficult  subject. 

We  are  camped  at  Antelope  Springs  in  the  land  of  antelope, 
sage-hens,  and  coyotes.  The  pronghorn  comes  to  water 
early,  so  we  must  find  out  hiding-places  before  his  arrival. 
Our  camp  is  at  the  smaller  spring,  over  the  hill  and  out  of 
sight  from  the  larger  one.  Reaching  the  main  spring  about 
sunrise,  we  conceal  ourselves  and  the  cameras,  with  all  the 
skill  we  can  command,  in  side  gulches  where  they  join  the 
main  gulch,  to  wait  for  these  wild,  shy  creatures.  The  pic- 
ture (No.  10)  shows  them  in  a  typical  environment  —  rolling 
hills  and  plains  with  scant  sage-brush  and  grass.  I  have  seen 
them  at  play,  running  in  circles  and  making  figures  of  eight; 
a  hundred  or  more  thus  at  play  make  a  curious  sight.  It  is 
astonishing  to  see  how  quickly  they  can  turn  in  an  opposite 
direction.  When  the  bunch  in  No.  10  came  to  the  top  of 
the  hill  I  was  very  doubtful  of  success,  and  feared  they  would 


03 

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CAMERA    SHOTS   AT   BIG   GAME  -j'j 

disappoint  me,  as  many  another  band  had  done.  They  scouted 
carefully,  sending  a  spy  out  here  and  there,  until  they  became 
satisfied  everything  was  safe;  then  started  out.  The  five  on 
top  of  the  hill  saw  the  other  five  start  and  followed.  I  said 
to  myself,  "  Now  is  the  time,'*  and  snapped  the  shutter. 

I  have  seen  them  come  in  bands  of  all  sizes.  At  times  it 
would  appear  as  if  they  sent  one  down  to  look  for  tracks  or 
other  signs  of  danger.  If  the  scout  or  runner  found  that  we 
had  crossed  the  gulch,  then  he  would  snort  and  they  would 
all  scamper  back  to  the  hills. 


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